Sango and the Tiger
by Lucinda the Maid
Summary: AU, MS, based on Frank R. Stockton's 'The Lady or the Tiger'. Two doors. Open one and you shall win eternal bliss in the arms of a beautiful woman. Choose the other and you will be devoured by a tiger. To which door shall Sango lead Miroku to? COMPLETED!
1. Day One

Hello to all who were brave enough to click the link to this fanfiction! This is the first one of mine I've decided to post, so, as one might imagine, it is, by no means, perfect. In saying that, any and all reviews would be greatly appreciated. Please do so.

Now, a few notes about the fic itself. The pairing for this fic is Miroku/Sango, with a little bit of Inu-Yasha/Kagome thrown in for good measure. It will be AU, set in a monarchy at about the 1500's, and it will be a series consisting of eight chapters. Chapters will probably be released one a week, though, if I'm feeling inspired ((cough)) reviews ((cough)) I might be able to squeeze out more. Also, please understand that, because this is an AU, there are certain liberties I'm allowing myself to take for the character's personalities. For example, Miroku does not have the Kazaana in this fic, so, as a result, he'll be a heck of a lot more open and optimistic. There are other changes I needed to make for the purposes of this fic, but I'll leave those for you to figure out.

Thanks once again, and enjoy!

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**Disclaimer: **Any and all characters from Inu-Yasha are property of Rumiko Takahashi, Viz, and any other person or corporation associated with them. The plot and idea of the short story "The Lady or the Tiger?" belongs to Frank R. Stockton. I, myself, am not writing this story in order to further myself in any way and, as stated, do not own Inu-Yasha or "The Lady or the Tiger?". Please do not sue me. This fanfiction, however, is mine. Do not steal my idea. Thank you.

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**Day One**

Sango strolled through the palace courtyard, sighing heavily. Somehow, the release of air from her tight lungs calmed her and helped to relax her mind. Sadly enough, though, the thoughts running through her now-clear head weren't pleasant at all, but heavy and burdensome instead.

Sango herself was fifteen years old at the time, only a week's breadth away from being sixteen. In her kingdom, sixteen was a holy year; it was the age that the young boys, with their broadening shoulders and still-squeaky voices, were assigned the profession they would perfect for the rest of their lives. Whether it be a blacksmith, baker, or, for a select few, guard of the royal family, once they had accepted the position, there was absolutely no turning back to the lives they once knew.

For the females in her society, however, their coming-of-age ceremony was slightly different. In the weeks that preceded her entrance into sixteen-year-old-hood, men of the same social class as her would court the lady in question, offering to her love and protection for the remainder of her time on earth. On her birthday, the young woman would choose her husband, and the two would be wed, bound together both legally and through their love for one another. Of course, should the girl choose a man undeserving of her, there was a chance that her selection would be overturned by Sango's father, the great King Ouji.

The king himself was naturally a kind-hearted soul. He cared for Sango and his younger child, a naïve boy named Kohaku, well, always encouraging them to learn and grow, guiding the children into the selves they were today. However, only those who knew him well were aware of the ruler's benevolent side. In order to assume the position that he currently held, King Ouji had mercilessly crushed many armies and slaughtered a great deal of people before his foes finally surrendered and handed over their land to him. Even still, he ruled his people wisely and well, though his more nefarious side took hold of him at times, turning the compassionate king into a ruthless leader. Perhaps his internal conflict between his two contradictory sides was the reason that Sango's kingdom had adopted "the system"…

"Sango-sama!" shrieked a high-pitched voice from not too far away. Sango turned, and, when she saw the figure running toward her, waving like mad, groaned. For that person was none other than Koharu, one of Sango's many lady-in-waitings. Koharu had lost her family at a young age, and King Ouji had been kind enough to allow her to live on the castle grounds so long as she was to serve him and his family. From the moment she agreed to that condition, Koharu got right to work, assuming the jobs a woman of her stature normally undertook, such as dressing the princess in the morning, bathing her when she needed cleansing, and keeping Sango company. However, in reality, Koharu would thrust clothes over Sango's head, painfully scrub her back in the bath, and yak her head off whenever she had a free moment in that gossipy, shrill voice of hers. Sango sighed yet again, putting her hands on her hips. "What is it, Koharu-chan?" she said, already exasperated.

Koharu finally reached the area where Sango stood. The lady-in-waiting had to stop for a moment to catch her breath before she could speak. "In... a… half a… hour… someone… will go through… 'the system'…"

Sango's eyebrows shot up. Despite its rather extreme nature, the princess was somehow drawn to the sacred ritual their kingdom practiced and rarely missed viewing it. Reaching out her hand to Koharu, Sango said in a firm voice, "Take me to the arena. Let's see what's in store for the poor fool today…"

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Twenty-five minutes later, Sango sat beside her father in an old stone arena in the heart of the kingdom. On her father's other side was Kohaku, and surrounding the royal family on nearly all sides were the most elite guards in the region. After their sixteenth birthdays, these chosen men were required to undergo rigorous training in the dense forests on the outskirts of King Ouji's conquered lands for four years. All who were too weak to pass this brutal schooling were killed, the rest either joining the military or becoming one of the guards that encircled the imperial family now. Of course, this highly-respected position did not come without a few costs; those men on the guard were not allowed to take a wife and couldn't leave the castle grounds without permission given to them personally from the king. 

The princess' thoughts of the guards, however, were shaken by a trumpet that sounded from a tower above her head. This noise indicated the start of "the system". The anticipating crowd, which consisted of nearly everyone in the kingdom, cheered as a scrawny-looking fellow entered through a doorway, his hands and feet bound by chains, which clanked along the stone arena's floor loudly. The door the convict had come out of slammed shut, leaving the man facing two more, exactly alike in every way.

What was behind these doors, however, would determine the felon's fate. One door concealed a bloodthirsty tiger, which, should the man choose to open it, would devour him in an instant. If this happened, the on-lookers would have a moment of silence to honor the recently-dead man and leave soon after, his relatives remaining in the arena longer to mourn. On the other hand, should the man open the opposite door, it would reveal a fair maiden the same age as he. From there, a priest would be summoned from the crowd to marry the two, and, from then on, she would belong to him. It did not matter if he was already married or if he did not love her; most who selected this door lived happily with their new "plaything". Sango herself could never understand precisely why this "system", as it was called, was revered so much, nor why she took such an obscene pleasure in witnessing it. However, the entire kingdom accepted it and, though one wouldn't normally think it, the crime rate did go down after it was issued.

What truly puzzled Sango, though, were the contradictions woven into their "system". For example, if the man in question _was_ guilty of the crime for which he was charged and he selected the door concealing the woman, he would be rewarded instead of punished for his actions as one would expect. The inverse was true, as well; if one is accused of a felony he did not commit, why should he die painfully and in front of so many people? Her father told her often, "The main benefit of 'the system' is that one's own fate is in their own hands. If fate is truly inevitable, then the convict should make the correct decision." Still, it didn't seem fair…right?

The trumpeter blew his instrument again, telling the man in the arena to make his selection. There was no way he could have possibly known which door to pick; both were soundproofed by skins, and there were no clues inscribed on the stone doorways to hint as to which room contained which. But if what Sango's father said was true…

"He'll pick the door containing the tiger," said a smooth voice to Sango's left. Though she hated to tear her eyes away from the action, she turned and gasped at the sight. Standing merely a few feet away was a man, back straight, clad in heavily-plated armor and carrying a spear. He was obviously a guard, but one Sango had never seen before. It was no wonder, either; he looked young enough to be new to the force, what with his vibrant violet eyes and pale skin that showed no sign of wrinkle or spot so common to the elderly. Since the criminal in the arena hadn't moved yet, Sango decided to chance a conversation. "W-what?"

The guard turned at the sound of her voice, looking the princess up and down with his dark, dark eyes. He smiled at her—Gods, did he have a nice smile—and whispered, "Look how nervous he is. He has no faith in himself to pick the right door; no trust. That is the key to this 'system' of ours. Trust in conjunction with fate."

Sango, in a voice barely above a breath, said "Fate…" seconds before a cry arose from the crowd. Sure enough, the man had selected the door that held the tiger and, right in front of the expectant audience's eyes, was ripped limb from limb in seconds. During the moment of silence following his death, the princess stole another glance at the handsome young guard she had spoken to. She found him already looking at her and smirking in a way that screamed, "I told you so." For a reason she could not place, Sango blushed heavily.

After another minute, the guards, including the one that stood beside her, were called back to the palace, seeing as their job was done for now. The man with the dark purple eyes turned to go, but not before smiling at Sango yet again. _Damn it, and my face just cooled off, too,_ thought the princess, feeling her countenance turn scarlet again. _Why in Kami-sama's name am I blushing so much?_

"Sango-chan," called King Ouji suddenly from a few feet away, "Time to go back to the castle."

Sango nodded, lifting the folds of her dress as she carefully got up and turned to go. However, just before she exited the arena, Sango stole one more glance at the carcass of the criminal in the arena and couldn't help but wonder if what that guard had said just now was true.

* * *

The rest of the day went uneventful, and, before long, the sky turned as dark as the new guard's eyes. _Damn it, Sango, stop thinking about him!_ The princess scolded herself as she was undressed in her room, finally released from the heavy pink constraint that was the gown she had worn all day. 

"Are you alright, Sango-sama?" asked the woman stripping the princess from behind. This voice belonged to Kagome, another one of Sango's waiting maids. She, unlike Koharu, had been taken from her home at a young age to serve King Ouji and become Sango's lady-in-waiting. Kagome was probably the servant—or, for that matter, person—that Sango was closest to, her best friend, if you will. They had always been there for each other, from the moment they'd first met right up to the present day. This fact persuaded Sango to tell her friend what—or, more specifically, who—was troubling her. "Er… Kagome?"

"Yes?" asked the girl in a chipper way. Though her voice was high, it was nowhere near as annoying as Koharu's.

"Did we, ah, receive any new guards to the force lately?"

Kagome closed her eyes and smiled as she undid Sango's corset. "Ah, yes, there is one that I can recall. His name is Miroku. He's the son of a monk, if you can believe it. He just graduated from the military academy maybe a month ago. He's strong, after all, and quite good-looking, too, if I may."

Sango smirked. "You wouldn't be looking elsewhere, now would you, Kagome-chan?"

Kagome laughed. "Oh, no! Trust me; Inu-Yasha is my everything!" Perhaps six months ago, on Kagome's sixteenth birthday, she had wed Inu-Yasha, a rather belligerent fellow on the guard who had a penchant for picking fights. Still, underneath his brash exterior was a soft heart that completely melted when he was around Kagome. Due to the normal limitations placed on the royal guards, a marriage like theirs usually wouldn't be tolerated. However, Sango had managed to pull a few strings for Kagome's sake, and the wedding had proceeded with out further incident.

After a moment of silence, Kagome stopped working. She blinked and, soon after, began to giggle uncontrollably. Sango whipped around, still smiling, temporarily ignoring the fact that she was stark naked. "Okay, Kagome-chan, tell me what's gotten into you."

Kagome fluttered her eyelashes at the princess, giving Sango a looked that plainly stated, "I know something you don't know". After a moment, the lady-in-waiting spoke. "How did you know about Miroku?"

Sango cocked her head. "'Know about him'? What makes you think I know something about him?"

Kagome shrugged. "I know what you're like, Sango. You only bring things up if you know you're going to get a response."

Sango shook her head. True, Kagome _was_ her best friend, but she didn't have to tell her _everything_. "It's nothing. I was just curious, I swear."

Kagome, still laughing, said, "Do you swear on kishi-sama's life, then?"

Sango partly wanted to bang her head against the wall she was leaning against and partly wanted to slam Kagome's into it. "Yes, yes, I swear." Deciding against both of her previous thoughts, Sango simply let her head fall to her hands. "Just please stop."

Kagome smiled and began to dress the girl. Soon enough, Sango was in her bed clothes and ready to retire for the night. But sleep did not overcome her for quite some time for no other reason that she could not get that guard off of her mind. After they had spoken earlier that day, Sango had murmured the word "fate". However, the reason she had said this was not because she'd agreed that "the system" was governed by destiny. If anything, in fact, she thought that fate was idiotic, an excuse people could point to to explain the inexplicable things that happened in life. Even still, she couldn't help but wonder if there was some intangible force that had brought her and Miroku together, and, with this in mind, sleep overcame the young princess, only seven days away from the rest of her life.

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**End chapter.**

Added Author's Notes:

The name "Ouji" refers to Sango's father. In the animanga, he remains nameless, but, for the purposes of this fic, I gave him a name.

In this chapter and later ones, as well, Sango refers to Miroku as "kishi-sama". "Kishi" is Japanese for "knight", which is basically what the men on the guard are. I made up the phrase "kishi-sama" on the spot as a respectful term to call someone of Miroku or Inu-Yasha's standing. We can't, after all, have Sango call Miroku by his name, now, can we? Well, not yet, at least…

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Review, please! 


	2. Day Two

Hello again! 'Tis Lucinda, back with chapter two. It's a bit longer than the first one, though not by so much that it's really noticeable. I tend to write a lot when I get really into a story like this, so just expect subsequent chapters to get lengthier. Oh, and also, thank you guys so much for the reviews! Honestly; they made my day. Keep 'em coming! With that said, enjoy the second installment of Sango and the Tiger!

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**Day Two**

"Sango-sama, why are you hitting your head against that tree?" asked Koharu concernedly. Moments before, the waiting maid had been strolling through one of the castle's courtyards on break, minding her own business… that is, until she saw her mistress deliberately causing herself pain. Never one to ignore the princess when she was in need, the lady-in-waiting made her way over to her, though she did fail to notice that, upon hearing her voice, Sango only began to hit her head harder.

"Thirty suitors…" Sango managed between blows, "…in two hours… it's more than I can bear…"

Koharu nodded, immediately understanding Sango's words. In the days that would follow, unmarried noblemen from all corners of the country would trek to the palace in an attempt to make Sango their bride. The process would have gone smoother if the princess hadn't fallen ill the previous week, preventing the men from coming for a few days. Now, to make up for lost time, Sango had to listen to twice as many suitors everyday, stating why he'd make the best husband and all the wonderful things he'd do for her, and et cetera. It was a straining procedure, one the young princess would have rather not gone through.

Sighing, Koharu succeeded in yanking the girl away from the elm tree, whose bark had worn down considerably in the past few minutes. The lady-in-waiting forced Sango to sit, hugging the girl's waist. "It's alright, I'm sure there will be someone out there for you…"

Sango tried to pull free from her servant's grasp, but Koharu held her way too tightly—and, at that, _uncomfortably_—for her to get away. Suspiring, Sango looked down. "But that's it; there _isn't_ anyone. Can't father see that I'm not ready to get married?"

Koharu shook her head, letting go of the princess, who sighed in relief. "No, milady, I suppose not. Still, it must be nice to have so many people falling head over heels for you…"

"Well, that's just because I'm the princess," Sango cut her lady-in-waiting off. "Do you think that they really love me? Of course they don't; they're all just after my position."

"Huh?"

Sango sighed again, placing her head in her hands and looking into the distance where the guards were exercising. "Once my father is unable to rule, the man that I marry will take over his role as king. And, just think, Koharu; when you're the king… you call the shots, you control everything…it's a supreme rule… nearly everyone that courted me today seemed honorable on the outside, but inside… they just want my hand for their own selfish reasons… to _have_ that rule…"

Koharu looked away. "I'm sorry, Sango-sama, I had no idea. It's just… I'm fourteen now, so my wedding ceremony won't be for a while. I can't help but wonder if anyone will try to woo me at that time…" Koharu trailed off before speaking again. "Hey, Sango-sama?"

"Hn?"

"Have you ever been in love?"

Sango snorted. "Me? In love? You've got to be kidding me." Sango turned to the girl so that she looked directly into her eyes. "Don't you think that, if I was one of those lovesick, giggly girls, I'd be thrilled to have so many men proposing to me? Hm?"

Koharu shook her head and smiled. "You're right, Sango-sama; you're not like that. What was I thinking?"

Once Sango was certain that Koharu had shut up, she averted her gaze to look at the guards in the distance. Right now, they were running laps on a dirt circle maybe fifty feet away, and, though they were all panting and sweaty, they still did their best to try to outrun each other. Sango immediately recognized Inu-Yasha and his archrival, Koga, in the midst of a footrace against one another. The two guards had always hated each other, but once both had fallen for Kagome a while back, that had taken their loathing to a whole new level. Even though Inu-Yasha was the one that had snagged her in the end, the second guard had never let that huge loss go and, as a result, held an even bigger grudge against him. Behind Koga, who, at the moment, was winning the race, were Ginta and Hakaku, two younger guards who absolutely idolized Koga and were desperately trying to keep up with his inhuman pace.

And then her eyes fell on him. Miroku. Sango gasped as she watched him run, drenching his clothes with perspiration. But even red-in-the-face and wheezing, he was still extremely handsome. Every so often, he'd shake his head to cool himself, swinging the small ponytail at the nape of his neck from side to side, making the girl blush at the attractive sight.

At some point or another, Miroku looked her way, his deep purple eyes meeting her wide brown ones. He stopped running for maybe a second and winked at her, smirking. In that moment, Sango had completely stopped breathing. What was it about him, exactly, that paralyzed her like this?

"Did you see that!" Koharu asked excitedly. Sango, who had since recovered herself, managed to say, "What?"

Koharu, suddenly standing, had begun to clap her hands. "That guard just winked at me! The one with the ponytail, right there! That's the one!"

Sango had never wanted to strangle the girl more. Exactly how stupid was Koharu? Didn't she even notice that the guard wasn't even looking her way, that he was fixated not on her, but on Sango instead? _It's completely outrageous! Honestly, I just can't believe her._ Despite the fact that, over the course of the past few seconds, Sango had gone from serene to livid, she stopped to wonder; _why am I so upset? This _is_ Koharu, after all. Her _not_ being a blithering idiot just isn't in her personality._ Sango laughed to herself. _Yes, the girl really _is_ a fool. A moronic, ditzy, dim-witted…_

The princess, however, couldn't complete her thought, for she suddenly found herself being jerked from her seated position and dragged across the courtyard by the blithering idiot herself. "C'mon, Sango-sama!" cried Koharu, stumbling down the path, "I wanna talk to him!"

Narrowing her eyes at the girl, Sango muttered, "Yes, but did you really have to bring me along?" Inside, though, the older woman was chalking up another point under her mental list of stupid things Koharu had done that day.

Thirty feet and ten seconds of numbness in her right arm later, Sango found herself just outside of the dirt circle, getting an up-close-and-personal look at the hot, heaving, so-called reliable men that had been knighted by her own father and bestowed the enormous responsibility of protecting the princess. _Like this group will ever do that…_

"Ladies," said a voice from in front of her. Looking up—exactly when had she put her head down?—Sango found herself staring right into Miroku's eyes for the second time that day. Sango vaguely felt her mouth drop open. _Kami-sama, he's even better looking this close up!_ The woman barely managed to retain her composure as she straightened her back and nodded at him. "H-hello, kishi-sama. I've never seen you train here before; would I be correct to assume that you're new to the guard?" _Of course you would, _moronSango scolded herself; _you _know_ he's new here._

Despite this, he nodded. "Yes, you would be. I'm 'the new guy', Miroku…"

"MIROKU!" This comment came from Koharu, who had since leaned forward to look into the guard's surprised—and, quite possibly, frightened—eyes. "Uwaah! It's so nice to meet you! My name is Koharu, and I'm a lady-in-waiting, but I serve the princess Sango, so it's like I'm royalty myself!" At the mention of her name, the older woman groaned and turned to look longingly back to the tree she'd been throwing herself against a few minutes ago, desperately wanting to shove her servant's head into its bark as hard as she could. _That's another point for Koharu… she's on a roll today…_

Frantically trying to look anywhere but in Koharu's direction, Miroku shifted his gaze to Sango and smiled. "Ah, so you must be the princess I've heard so much about." Finally succeeding in moving Koharu aside, the guard's perceptive gaze swept Sango up and down. Though it may have been her imagination, Sango could have sworn his eyes stopped to linger on her hips for a moment before continuing to travel back up to her face. He smirked, giving him a slightly dangerous look. "You look even lovelier up close…"

Trying to hide the blush creeping up her cheeks, Sango stammered, "I, uh… well… who did you think you were guarding yesterday?"

Miroku nodded. "Good point… how could I have forgotten our encounter?"

Koharu's eyebrows shot up. "You mean you've met him before? Sango-sama, why didn't you tell me?"

Miroku turned back to Sango, eyes laughing. "Yes, Sango, why _didn't_ you tell Koharu-san?" The princess vaguely heard her companion sigh at the honorific he'd attached to her name. "Was our rendezvous _that_ unimportant to you?"

Sango racked her brain for something witty—or, at the very least, sensible—to say. She hated to be put on the spot, and right now was no exception. "I… I didn't think you'd be interested Koharu-san," said Sango, pausing for a moment to see if she had gotten the same reaction as Miroku from the honorific. Seeing that she hadn't, the girl continued, "You hardly seem the romantic type, and so…"

"Oh, but I _am_ romantic!" interrupted Koharu. "I know I might be young, but, nonetheless, I can't wait to get married and spend my life with my special someone!"

"Is that so?" inquired Miroku, whose eyebrows, Sango noticed, rose ever so slightly. After Koharu gave a vigorous nod that probably shook her brains up even more, her hands became captured by the guard's. Looking surprisingly serious, Miroku said, "Then, Koharu-san, I suppose you'll pay no objection to bearing my child?"

Sango's eyes widened. _Did he just say what I thought he did? _The princess, however, didn't even need to ask herself this question. She knew what she'd heard and had come to an immediate conclusion; the handsome, seemingly-innocent man was a pervert.

And Sango _hated_ perverts.

That realization made Sango, who had never been good at suppressing her temper to begin with, finally snap. _Who the hell does this guy think he is?_ she asked herself. _Does he really think he can just come here and sweep us off our feet, just like that!_ Looking at the two, the princess saw Koharu's mouth curve upwards into an extremely twisted, but, nonetheless, pleased smile. Though she, of course, didn't _like_ the girl, Sango knew she couldn't just leave her in the hands of a man like him. Sango despised men like him, _perverts_ like him, and if he thought he could win either of them over that easily, he had another thing coming.

Viciously tearing Koharu away from Miroku, she drew back her hand and hit the man. Hard. "HENTAI!" the princess screeched ferociously. If words could truly hurt people, Miroku would have been writing on the ground with a gaping hole through his chest just then. "This girl is only fourteen! She's not some courtesan that will share you bed without any forethought whatsoever! How dare you be so kind to us only to… to ask us something like that! You're despicable, you know that? Des-pic-a-ble!"

Sango stopped fuming for a moment to let her words sink in. Miroku stood there, his eyes winking open and shut the way a stubborn flame that refuses to go out flickers on a wax candle. After a second, when the princess saw that he wasn't going to say anything, she turned to her lady-in-waiting and commanded, "Come on, Koharu. We're going back to the castle."

"But, but, but… Miroku!" The servant girl tried to protest, though, in her heart, she knew it was futile to disobey her master. She looked longingly at Miroku, whose left cheek had reddened considerably from the slap. "Okay, then," she whispered, looking down, "I'll go." Giving Miroku one last look, Koharu followed Sango through one of the palace's many doors and down the hall they'd just entered. As she stalked down the corridor, Sango couldn't help but continue to mentally chastise the guard. _He's got some nerve… acting all princely and sweet only to turn around and become a… a philanderer! I can't believe I didn't notice it sooner... 'You're so lovely' and all of that crap… I really am a moron…_

"Um… Sango-sama?" Due to the fact that Koharu's voice echoed off the high walls and ceiling of the corridor, the princess could tell that her lady-in-waiting was standing at the opposite end of the hall, unable to keep up with her superior's fast-paced walking. Her voice was laced with both concern and grief, and it was obvious that she was trying not to anger the princess even more. "Shouldn't you be getting back to the throne room now? There are hordes more suitors there waiting for you."

Sango stopped briefly and turned around, her eyes meeting Koharu's. A glint of sadness played across the servant girl's countenance as she stood over forty feet away, hands clasped together, eyes gawping at her superior. Finally, after a short staring contest, Sango crossed her arms and stated, "Actually, Koharu, I wouldn't like to do anything more right now," before heading back in her servant's direction, suddenly ready to face her many possible husbands again.

* * *

"You _hit _him!" Kagome cried disbelievingly a few hours later. While the waiting maid had been dressing Sango that evening, the princess had let slip a few words of her encounter with Miroku earlier. Never one to miss one of Sango's "romantic endeavors"—which, by the way, typically ended painfully for the males in that situation—Kagome had stayed behind with her master for a few minutes to talk it out. 

"Yeah, I hit him," Sango replied half-heartedly. It was often in Kagome's nature to force herself into situations that didn't necessarily concern her and, though it was apparent Sango didn't want to talk about the guard at the moment, this instance was no exception. "I mean, he was clearly hitting on Koharu; who was to say he wouldn't turn around and go after me next?"

"But you don't _like_ Koharu," Kagome pointed out.

"But I don't like perverts more," Sango responded deftly.

Kagome cocked her head confusedly. "Why not?"

"Huh?"

"Why don't you like perverts?"

Sango shuddered. "Bad experience."

Kagome understood immediately. "Naraku?"

"Naraku," Sango replied, referring to the young prince she'd met three years ago who had attempted to make the girl do things that were rather unholy for someone her age. Recalling these memories, Sango looked away, hugging her chest. "It's just… yesterday, when I spoke with him, he seemed so nice and intelligent…"

"Wait a second," Kagome interrupted, waving her hands ridiculously as though that would shut Sango up. "I thought you told me yesterday that you _didn't_ know him!"

"I lied," Sango stated passively, shrugging.

Kagome clapped her hands, a squeal escaping her upturned lips. "I knew it! I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!" After a brief victory dance, Kagome went on. "So you _did_ meet him! And you liked him enough to ask me about him!"

Sango shook her head. "Not anymore, I don't. Not after what he did."

Kagome stopped bouncing to look at her friend. She just looked so… so _lost_. So helpless and hopeless at the same time. Kagome really didn't want to relay this information to her now, while she was in this condition, but… "Sango-sama?"

"What?"

"I… I asked Inu-Yasha today about Miroku, considering that they're both on the guard and all… turns out Miroku… well, apparently, every so often, he goes into a random village, drinks a pub dry, and flirts with every remotely good-looking woman he comes across."

Sango felt her head lower slowly to her knees, thus folding her entire body in half. "So he has a reputation," she said, her voice muffled against her nightgown.

Kagome nodded, though Sango couldn't see her. "Yup. But that's just what Inu-Yasha says…"

"He's probably right," Sango cut off, sitting back up again. She attempted a smile, though the end result was more than a little misshapen. "I'm going to bed, now." In response to the strange looks Kagome was giving her, Sango waved her hands in front of her face and said, "No, really, I am! I'm just tired, that's all! Tired!"

Kagome arched a brow as if to say, "Whatever you say" and wished her friend a good night as she made her way out of Sango's room. Sango herself crawled under her red sheets and closed her eyes. However, sleep did not claim her just yet. Instead, thoughts of that guard, that _Miroku_, washed over her for the second night in a row, leaving Sango with mixed feelings. Moments before, she had professed her hatred of him to Kagome, a hatred that was pure, and irritation that was true. Even still, the day before, when they'd spoken about 'the system'… his eyes were just so… so _sincere_. Sango could tell that he'd meant everything he had said simply by looking at them. _So why the sudden turn around today?_ Sango wondered, clutching a pillow to her chest. She buried her face in it, trying to coax herself to sleep and ease all thoughts of _him_ out of her head. _Why do you care, anyway? So what if he didn't turn out as expected? You'll be married by this time next week; no need to worry about lecherous guards then._ And with this reassurance, the princess fell into a dreamless sleep. Little did she know, however, that, somewhere on the palace grounds, a man was lying awake in bed, too, thinking about the princess just then and formulating a plan on how to run into her again.

* * *

**End chapter.**

Do I even need to say it? Se revisa, por favor! Bwhahahahaha! Spanish rules!


	3. Day Three

Lur… no author's note today… I just basically wrote this chapter to stall doing homework. Hence, it's rather short. But, hey, that's what you get, right? Besides, there really isn't much more to say in this chappie; I didn't want to drag it out longer than it needed to be. So, without further ado, here's chapter three!

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**Day Three**

By noon the next day, Sango found herself wandering through the palace courtyards again. After four hours of sitting in the throne room, listening to one suitor after another proclaim his "undying affection" for her, the princess didn't want to pass up a chance to exit the stuffy castle and get some fresh air. _Maybe I'll watch the guards train again today, _Sango thought, absentmindedly eyeing the knights' quarters quite a distance away. _Then and again, after what happened yesterday, I'm not sure I'll be watching them for a while…_

No sooner had this thought crossed her mind did she see him.

Miroku.

Again.

_Alone_.

The guard sat beneath a tree, a shadow falling delicately over his face like a silk skirt over Sango's legs. He held one knee close to his chest and was looking off to the side so that it looked as though he was posing for a picture. His eyes, however, were impassive, which, as Sango had learned over the course of the past two days, wasn't an appearance they took up oft.

Suddenly, the guard stirred from his motionless pose and looked toward the princess. As soon as his gaze met her own, Miroku's eyes changed from stoic to contented just as quickly as Sango's face turned pale to pink. Bowing his head slightly, the guard murmured, "Hello, Princess. Fancy seeing you here."

The sound of his voice jolted Sango from her paralyzed state and made her relive the previous day's events. _Don't forget, he's still a letch; you can't trust him now._ Nodding rapidly, Sango said, "Hello, kishi-sama."

Miroku's eyebrows rose somewhat, and a satisfied smile graced Sango's lips. He knew that he'd told her his name the day before, and the only polite thing to do was to call him "Sir Miroku" or even "Miroku-sama". However, the princess was wary of the man's "habit", so until she determined that he could be trusted—which, at the rate he was going, was never—"kishi-sama" stayed.

"What brings you to me?" Miroku asked, simpering as he cocked his head, ponytail falling lazily to one side of his neck.

Sango crossed her arms, smug look completely wiped away from her face, and turned away from him. "I'm not here for _you_. I'm on break, as a matter of fact."

"On break? Meaning that you, the _princess_, needs to _work_?"

Sango glanced back his way and saw that he was smiling playfully again. Trying to fix her eyes on anything _but_ that grin, she responded, "Actually, for the next few days, I'll be searching for my future husband."

"Ah," said the guard, "The 'Ceremony of Sixteen', then?"

"That's the one."

Miroku nodded. "Every girl's dream, hm?"

Sango snorted. "Everyone's but mine," she stated plainly. For some reason, her legs began moving without any consent from her brain, and, in the course of the next few moments, the princess found herself sitting beside the guard under the cool shade of the tree. Seeing her current position, Miroku smiled and asked, "And why is that, dear princess?"

"Sango," she said simply, "My name is Sango."

"And mine is Miroku, but you don't call me by that, do you?" he said, his voice replete with amusement. Sango, however, responded by turning abruptly and shooting a look that plainly stated, "Shut up." In fact, she said just that, in addition to, "I'm the princess, and _I_ say that _I'm_ Sango and _you're_ kishi-sama."

Miroku sighed, clearly defeated, and turned away from the girl. "Alright, then, _Sango_," he said mordantly. "I'll be kishi-sama. But you still never answered my question; why aren't you looking forward to your wedding ceremony?"

Sango looked down and hugged her knees to her chest. "I… it's nothing, really. It's just… I don't like getting forced into things… and most of the men that have courted me are selfish pigs anyway…" Miroku barely managed to hold back a snort of laughter, and the princess glanced at him disdainfully. "Why am I telling you this, anyway? It doesn't really make a difference…" _Besides, _she thought, _he's a womanizer himself. It's not like he cares about…_

"Sango, Sango, Sango," Miroku tutted, shaking his head, thereby interrupting the princess' train of thought. "You don't see the falsity in your words." As the knight counted off Sango's mistakes, he held up another finger. "First off, this 'Ceremony of Sixteen' of ours is a tradition; there's no stopping it from happening, no matter how much any of us resist it. In saying that, you're not really 'getting forced into it', but, instead, everyone else around you is going with its inescapable flow. Second, not all men are pigs as you say. Some of us live to fulfill the desires of the fairer sex…"

At this point, Sango felt something move across her butt… something that certainly _wasn't_ the wind or a leaf… The princess' face contorted in anger, and she slapped the guard for the second time since she'd met him. "Though _some_ men are too fulfilling," she said dryly as the guard clutched his now-red face in agony. "True, true," he mumbled, suddenly rising to his feet. He turned back to her and held out his other hand, smiling despite the new pain in his face as he helped her to her feet. "You third inaccuracy is that what you said _does_ make a difference."

"And why is that?"

"Because _I_ care about you."

Sango's eyes widened. _"I care about you."_ Those were words she had heard only once before, from Kagome the evening Naraku had tried to force himself on her. Being the princess, Sango's only functions were to take the throne one day as queen, make and enforce a few new laws, and bear at least one healthy child that would take her place someday. She wasn't supposed to care about anything but her people, just as her subjects shouldn't care so much about her. But _him_. Miroku. He, of all people… _cared_?

Sango knew full well that showing her astonishment at his statement would be a mistake on her part, so, instead, she jerked her hand away from his grasp and said, "Well, then, if you truly cared, you'd apologize."

Miroku quirked an eyebrow and cocked his head in a befuddled manner. "Apologize? For what?"

"For saying what you did to Koharu and for being so immature," Sango said as-a-matter-of-factly.

Miroku laughed and shook his head, ponytail waving. "Mistaken again, Sango, mistaken again. You are currently looking at the most mature man on the guard."

Sango harrumphed. "If by 'mature' you mean 'lecherous', then you're absolutely right."

The guard sighed. Beaten again. "Alright then, I apologize for my behavior yesterday." He walked ahead a few steps in the direction of the side entrance to the throne room. Sango followed him almost as though she was attached to a leash that he held. "But know this," he said, looking at the girl and holding up a finger for emphasis, "I truly mean it. I really am sorry."

Sango turned, and, in doing so, looked right into his eyes. And playing in his purple orbs was that unmistakable sincerity again. Somehow, the simple of action of looking straight at him made Sango believe every word he said. "Okay then," she said quietly, breaking her gaze away from his. "Apology accepted."

As soon as the words left her mouth, however, a trumpet's cry rang out, echoing over the grounds for a moment before it disappeared completely. Both Sango and Miroku understood the sound; it meant that a person of royalty was approaching the palace, and, considering that Sango was to be married off in a few days, it was most likely another suitor who had come to woo her. For some reason, the girl sighed, and she stopped walking, looking down. "That's probably for me. I'd better go now, kishi-sama."

Miroku smiled. "Alright, then. Here, the door to the throne room is right over there. I'll walk you over." The guard then wasted no time in linking his arm with Sango's and escorting her the remaining distance to the door. Blushing madly, the girl stammered, "Uh… yes, yes thank you." Regaining her composure, Sango now questioned, "But… why are you being so polite all of a sudden?"

Miroku stopped then, for the two had reached the door. However, neither of them made any motion to leave the other's side. The guard smiled and knelt suddenly, looking up at his superior. "Sango," he said softly, and his voice alone was enough to send shivers up the princess' spine. Or perhaps those tremors were caused by the fact that Miroku now held her left hand in his two. "Sango, know that it is the duty of a guard such as myself to be polite to his employer. And also, know that…" He paused briefly to plant a kiss on the girl's wrist before looking up again. "…your wish is my command."

Another kiss. Then…

"I swear to you, princess, that, no matter how many people turn against you in the future, I'll always be by your side to protect you. I'll sacrifice myself for your sake. I am not worthy of someone such as yourself; someone of your standing and beauty. Just promise that you'll let me stay near you, and all of my heart's desires will have been fulfilled. Will you…" Kiss. "…honor my request?"

Sango, whose face had turned tomato-red at his speech, opened her mouth to say something. However, the words stuck in her throat, so all she could manage was an indistinct squeak. After what seemed like an eternity, the knight rose and, smiling, said, "You can get back to me on that, if you wish." And, with that, the man winked, turned, and left her there. Sango was barely aware of herself reaching out in his direction and croaking, "Don't… go…"

The princess blinked and reality kicked in again. _What in Kami-sama's name are you doing? This is… him! He's a womanizer, remember? You despise men like him. So why are you acting all lovey-dovey? You're not Koharu!_ Sango nodded to herself and said aloud, "Yeah, but, he's… different somehow…" _I can't really put my finger on what, but it's definitely there._ Sango sighed, placing her hands on her hips. All of this thinking was giving her a headache, and she needed all the energy she could scrounge up to listen to yet another group of suitors…

Sango, who had since started walking through the now-open door into the throne room, stopped dead in her tracks. Miroku knew full well that her sixteenth birthday was coming up and that, everyday, she was being attacked by scores of potential husbands. He'd probably thought, "What difference will one more make?" and courted her then.

The girl gasped at her realization.

Just now, Miroku had _courted_ her.

Sango slammed the door behind her shut. _Screw him!_ she mentally fumed. _Screw _guys_ like him! He was putting on an act again! Damn it, how could I think like that? 'He's different' and all of that crap! That's all bull! He's just another guy who wants to gain power and give his social standing a boost. He's _not _different. Not in the least._

After taking a moment to calm down, the princess sat on her throne and, for the next few hours, listened to twenty more noble men propose to her. All of them were dismissed immediately after their proclamation. By the end of the day, she found herself in her room with Kagome, per usual, the lady-in-waiting yammering on about something stupid Inu-Yasha had done. Sango just listened quietly, though she really didn't pick up on anything her servant said. Eventually, the princess grew weary and crawled into her bed, her sheets pulled up to her chin. The girl fell asleep straight away, not stirring until the morning sun slipped into her room through a stained-glass window. But, even while slumbering, that guard wouldn't leave her alone. Actually, no, not the guard. Those damn eyes of his._ Why do they have to look so heartfelt? Why? Is it actually possible that he isn't like my other suitors? That he really is… different?

* * *

_

**End chapter.**

Review, my good readers! Send me messages to distract me from the science lab, English reading, and math homework I've been cruelly forced to do! A little note goes a long way! Donate... er... review...


	4. Day Four

To say the least, this chapter was difficult to write. What with pressures from school, especially those regarding the Biology SAT IIs, I've had hardly any time to write, which explains the delay in putting this chapter up. And, once I _did _sit down to draft it, it took me quite literally four revisions to get _just the dialogue_ to a point where I was satisfied with it. 

But enough of my writing. After a long (well, for me it's long) absence, this is finally up. And, really, I couldn't have done it if it wasn't for you readers out there. As stated in my last chapter, every review makes a difference; truth be told, they make me giddy. And hyper. Yes, hyper. They really get me motivated to write, so, in saying that, I'd like to thank everyone who has, at the very least, read my fic for all that you've done. Special thanks to Demon Exterminator Barbie and Veglma for cracking me up with the "Miroku in just a towel" tidbit (it sure as heck distracted me) and for everyone else who has reviewed thus far. (And psquare, feel free to write the sequel to Unrequited; I can't wait to see what you do with it!)

Okay, I know that you're all waiting for me to shut up. So I will do that. Why? Because you are my readers. And I lurve my readers! ((huggles)) Onto chapter four!

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**Day Four**

The moment she was allowed to leave the throne room the next day, Sango dashed out to the courtyards yet again. Sure, the girl _claimed_ that she didn't like Miroku, but, for some reason, she wanted to talk to him again. _And what better place to look for him than in the courtyards?_ Sango reasoned, scurrying through the vegetation she frequented at so often.

Two minutes and a trampled flower bed later, the princess arrived at the tree where she'd come across him at the day before… only to find it unoccupied. Sango wrapped her arms around herself and bit her lip, trying to hold back the sigh of disappointment rising in her throat. Why she was suddenly so upset was a mystery to her, but the point was that Miroku was nowhere in sight, and…

"I thought I'd find you here, princess."

Sango didn't even have to turn around to know who had spoken.

"Kishi-sama," she said quietly, dropping her arms to waist height. It didn't take long, however, before her hands balled themselves into fists. "You should know by now, kishi-sama, I don't like being called 'princess'. My name is…"

"Sango, Sango, I know, I know," Miroku surrendered, holding up his hands as though they were twin white flags. "You don't need to remind me."

The girl rolled her eyes and strutted down the dirt path they were standing on, turning up her nose and sending her chocolate brown hair cascading down her back. "Whatever. Shall we walk?"

Miroku bowed in the direction of the wall of hair that separated him from Sango, especial smile ever-present on his lips. "As stated, your wish is my command, pri… er, Sango." The girl sighed. Now he was just fooling around. The last time he'd done that, she'd slapped him. In saying that, men who toyed with the princess—literally or otherwise—typically didn't walk away from her without a glaring red reminder of her anger imprinted on his face. However, today, the guard kept his hands to himself, thus avoiding a rather painful encounter with Sango's palm.

The two walked a short distance in a comfortable silence. For some reason, just being near the guard made Sango less tense, which, in turn, made her more confused. _He is, after all, a pervert, and I can't trust him,_ she mused, and that thought alone was enough to make her stiffen up again. Nevertheless, she couldn't forget the veracity that glimmered in his eyes whenever he was speaking of a serious matter, and it was those eyes that both puzzled her and drew her to him so.

"Uh… kishi-sama?" Sango found her mouth forming words though her rational mind told her to remain quiet.

"Yes, Sango?"

"What are your opinions on 'the system'?"

Miroku turned to the girl, eyebrows raised. His reaction was no surprise, really, considering that Sango's question came completely from out of the blue. "'The system'… that your father established?"

"Uh-huh."

Miroku smiled. "I thought I made my views rather clear a few days ago; it's a system of preserving justice that's governed by fate and trust, which are…"

"Two completely unrelated topics," Sango cut off dryly. _I'm a bit disappointed, actually… I expected better from him…_

The guard sighed, letting his shoulders slump forward. "What did I do wrong now, Sango? You asked my opinion, and I gave it to you. You didn't need to interrupt me."

"I'm not saying you're wrong," Sango defended, "In fact, my father's told me exactly what you just said often enough. But… why is it that way?"

The guard turned away from Sango, straightening back up again. Looking at his profile, the girl couldn't help but notice that his eyes now shone with that unmistakable sincerity again. "Life itself is already dependent on those two factors to begin with, especially fate. When we're born, our destinies are determined; who we are, what we'll do with our lives, who we should love." Sango felt her face flush at that last example. "Of course, the minutiae that don't hinder this force can be controlled by us humans…"

"Minutiae?"

"Small, insignificant details or decisions that don't effect a greater outcome," Miroku explained. "Basically, no matter what events occur in our lifetimes, before we part from this world, our fates will have been fulfilled." He turned to face her, though his sincere eyes never lost their sparkle. "And that, dear Sango, is the key to this system of ours."

Sango was so caught up in his words, his eyes, and her conflicting views on him, she found herself believing everything that he said. It all sounded convincing, but…_ But_ _what he's saying just isn't possible! Fate doesn't exist! These "events" in our lives are just one coincidence after another! He's wrong! WRONG!_ Determined to voice her own views, Sango exclaimed, "But, if what you say is true, fate _can_ be changed, can't it? And what of trust? You said that trust is important, too!"

Miroku rested a hand on her shoulder. "Settle down Sango," he soothed tenderly, "I'll get to that." The feeling of his strong hand weathered from years of training on her exposed shoulder—the particular dress she was wearing was cut rather low—was enough to calm the girl down somewhat.

It was the location of his _other_ hand that pissed her off again.

In the course of the next ten seconds, Miroku found himself wearing a handprint on his face, and Sango was stomping down the dirt path, one eyebrow twitching sporadically. _Nope; still can't trust him._

"Sango, I'm sorry," whined the guard like a three-year-old boy.

"You said that yesterday, too, _hentai_," said Sango without looking back at him.

Miroku sighed. "You certainly have a point there." The knight jogged a bit to catch back up to the princess, who still refused to make eye contact with him. "Besides, I wasn't finished yet. Do you want me to go on?"

Silence. Then…

"Fine, then. I'm all ears."

Miroku grinned. "Alright. If that's what you wish, I'll continue. Where were we?"

"I'd just said that fate can be changed."

"Right. And you were correct to say that."

"Huh?"

"There are exceptions to the rules of fate, one of them being our renowned system. If, say, a man commits a crime and, when caught, must face 'the system', if he truly is guilty, he should select the door concealing the tiger. However, it is possible that he is not _fated_ to die in that way, ergo, he should pick the lady's door."

"But, if he's guilty and he picks the room that hides the lady…" Sango took a moment to puzzle out Miroku's words. "It's… it's contradictory!"

Miroku nodded, smirking. "That's precisely why it's an exception to begin with. And, in cases such as these, trust steps in."

"But… why trust?"

"No matter what door the felon in question selects, he must have had some reason for choosing it. If he has faith in his own ability to make decisions—in other words, if he trusts _himself_—fate may work in his favor and produce a desired result."

Sango nodded dumbly for a moment. Everything he'd said made sense, but that didn't mean it was true. In fact… "That a load of bull."

"Excuse me?"

"Fate doesn't 'work in one's favor'. Even if you trust yourself, if you pick the door hiding the tiger when you think it's concealing the lady, nothing's going to switch the things behind the doors and you'll wind up dead anyway. Therefore, trust has absolutely nothing to do with 'the system'."

"I never said the doors would 'flip-flop'," Miroku pointed out, "But, at least if one trusts himself, he'll die more honorably."

"Dying is dying," Sango stated. "Once you're dead, you're… well, dead! People might feel sad that you're gone, true, but their mourning isn't going to bring you back to life."

"That's true as well. Death at the paws of a tiger, however, occurs in an instant. So, if in that instant, one could feel as though he was bettering himself, the last moments of his life will be much less painful."

"But you'll still die," Sango said, almost bluntly. "Nothing changes that."

"I suppose so…"

"SANGO-SAMAAAAAA!"

The voice that had just sounded, one that obviously didn't belong to her or Miroku, penetrated Sango's ears, which threatened to break from the sudden noise. And that annoying, ear-shattering voice could only belong to one person…

"Koharu-chan," said the princess, her patience already nonexistent. The lady-in-waiting charged toward her superior, stopping only a few inches from Sango's nose. "How are you today, Sango-sama?"

"Fine," came the curt response.

"And you, Miroku-sama?" sighed Koharu, her voice taking on a lovesick tone, making the princess groan in disgust. _Ugh! The way she acts all sugary-sweet around him… it's enough to make me want to kill someone…_

"I'm well Koharu-san. No, as a matter of fact, I'm great!" The guard waved his hands in front of his face as he spoke, almost as though he was swatting at a pesky flying that wouldn't go away. Which Koharu was. "What brings you here?"

"King Ouji wishes to speak to his daughter," Koharu stated professionally, as if she actually _was_ an expert at what she did. The girl leaned closer to Miroku, a strangely seductive grin plastered on her lips. "That leaves just the two of us, Miroku-sama…"

Sango's eyes widened at the sight. _Is she… hitting on him!_ The princess vaguely felt her soft, dainty hands turn into stiff, clenched fists. _She has some nerve, barging in on our conversation like that and then turning around and flirting with him… I ought to wring her neck…_

"It's alright Koharu-san." Miroku's voice brought the royal female back to reality and prevented her from slipping into a homicidal rage. "I'll take Sango to the king in your stead."

The lady-in-waiting cocked her (empty) head. "Are you certain? I mean, it's not really your job, after all…"

"My Lady Koharu!" the guard cut off loudly, his voice bursting with jovialness. "Don't be so foolish and dim-witted!" Koharu stood stupidly in front of the knight, oblivious to the fact that he was playfully mocking her. Sango, however, from the combined effect of Miroku's statement and Koharu's lack of observation, was sent into convulsions of laughter that refused to quell. The guard continued, "Everyone who lives on the palace grounds has one similar duty; to keep the princess happy! So, _of course_ it is my job to escort her to her father. After all, we can't keep the king waiting."

Koharu's eyes shone with so much admiration, it looked as though her face would catch fire. "You're absolutely right, Miroku-sama! I'll go do the princess' laundry instead, now, and you can take her to the throne room!" The lady-in-waiting bounced off, murmuring to herself. "And why am I doing this? To keep Sango-sama happy, that's why! 'Cuz it's my duty to do that!..."

As the younger girl scuttled into the distance, Miroku sighed. "Well, _that_ certainly got rid of her."

"You said it," responded Sango, in awe of her servant's innate ability to get stupider everyday. The princess turned to her knight, still smiling widely. "That was really funny, though. 'Foolish and dim-witted'. You don't know how right you are."

"Of course I do; I was making an observation, after all." Those words just sent Sango into yet another fit of giggles. Miroku smiled at this sound and began heading toward the throne room to fulfill his supposed duty. "Even still," he said suddenly, "She means well."

Sango paused for a second. "Koharu, you mean?"

The guard shook his head yes. "It's apparent that she tries her hardest to please everyone around her, and that she views you as a role model." The corners of his mouth tugged upward a little more, and he closed his eyes almost as though he was in deep thought. "She's a cute girl, Koharu. As strange as she may be, she'll make someone very happy someday."

Sango cocked her head. Just what was he trying to say, anyway? Koharu was nothing more than an annoyance, someone who wouldn't please anybody. And here he was saying that she was _cute_? What did that make Sango, then? A demon?

"Would you like to know something, Sango?"

The girl turned back toward him, surprised at the sudden seriousness in his voice. "What?"

Miroku smiled, eyes shimmering. "Just now… that was the first time I've heard you laugh like that."

Sango stood still for a moment, looking up at the guard, surprised at her own humorlessness. _Have I really been that stiff around him? Am I really that somber? Do I laugh that rarely? And yet… when I'm with him, I… I feel like laughing all the time. He has that strange effect on me. He makes me…_

_…happy._

"We're here Sango," announced the guard suddenly, gesturing to the throne room's side door.

"Oh," Sango said softly, still lost in thought.

"Shall I take you inside?"

"No… no, I'll be okay from here."

The two stood, unmoving, facing on another. Both refused to be the first to leave, for reasons neither could place. But one of them wanted to say something completely different from a parting phrase.

"Kishi-sama?"

"Yes, Sango?"

She looked up at him briefly before turning away. "Thank you…" the girl said silently, "For… for being so kind to me." When he didn't respond, Sango gasped, wondering if she'd said something wrong. "I… I mean, I know it's your duty and everything, but…"

"Sango."

_Sango._ He'd called her Sango. Not princess, not Sango-sama, not even Sango-chan. Just Sango. Her name. No matter that he'd called her that only after her direct order; he'd obeyed her, after all, just as she knew he would. But Sango wasn't so surprised at the fact that he had complied with her order. The truth was that, when he said her name like that, it was enough to make her melt on the spot. In a good way, though. The best way possible. "Y… yes, kishi-sama?"

Miroku waited until she allowed her gaze to meet his own before he continued. "Remember what I told you yesterday? I'd said that I cared about you."

"Uh-huh…" _What's he getting at?_ Sango wondered confusedly.

"I'm not nice because it's my duty or I don't want to displease you. I act the way I do… because I care."

"You… what?" Sango really couldn't get her words out, for her face had suddenly collided with the guard's chest, muffling her voice. Miroku pulled her into a strong embrace, knocking his chin against the top of her head and resting his arms just beneath the small of her back. "Nothing in the world would please me more than to see you happy. Even if it meant sacrificing my own happiness. Even if it mean sacrificing my very _life_. I want that for you. I want to hear you laugh like that again. I want to see you smile. That's all I desire… Sango."

There was her name again. When she heard him say it, Sango stopped breathing and froze up in his arms. In her motionless state, the girl was ultra-sensitive to any nearby movements… including one that was now occurring on the very top of her head. Sango felt something warm and damp press into the top of her forehead. Something that _wasn't_ a chin, though very, _very_ close to it… Now her heart wasn't beating anymore. "K… kishi-sama, what are you…"

"Sh," he breathed, his voice alone enough to send Goosebumps prickling down the girl's skin. The guard tightened his grip around Sango, signaling that he didn't want to move anytime soon. Quite frankly, actually, Sango herself didn't want that either. Right now, she just felt so at ease with him, as though nothing bad could ever happen to her, not with him there. What he'd given her was a secure feeling that wouldn't go away; she'd always had it, but never realized it until this moment. Sango desperately wanted to hold him longer and intensify that feeling, but something was holding her back. It was a notion she just couldn't shake, no matter how much she needed to.

And it was that notion that caused Sango to shove the guard away from her.

Miroku stumbled backward, his arms still a ring that once held the princess, and he said in a voice replete with surprise, "Sango…"

Now that name made the girl wince. Why did he have to call her that? "Kishi-sama…" What could she possibly say to him that would make sense; that _wouldn't_ make her look as though she was out of her head? "This… what we're doing… it isn't right! I mean… I'm getting married… you're a pervert… trust… I… I need to go now, kishi-sama!"

Thinking of nothing else to do, Sango pulled the door to the throne room open, ran inside, and slammed it in the face of the stunned guard. She leaned against the adjacent wall, panting. Did she really have to take such drastic measures? Was it really so horrible that she was so drawn to him? _Of course it is!_ Sango decided. _Relationships between guards and most women usually aren't tolerated in the first place. Why should my case be any different? Besides, he held me because he's a womanizer. That's the only reason! There is nothing between us! Nothing!_

_So why do you care so much?_ squeaked a minute voice in her ear.

_I don't care! That's the entire point!_

_It sure _sounds _as if you care._ That second voice was beginning to get exasperated.

_I guess…_ Sango slowly began to understand why she was so upset. _It's just that… I _can't_ care. He's so good to me, even when I treat him like he's nothing, and he really listens to me. He's so sincere and warm and open, and I really like that about him… but, no matter how much I like him, I know that we can't be together. By the end of this week, I'll be married to someone of noble blood, not a guard, and certainly not him._ Sango sighed, having finally admitted what she'd always known to herself.

_So that's why you don't care?_

_That's what I claim. But… I really do care. I want him to be happy. That's all._ The girl looked up toward the ceiling, wondering if there was a being beyond the sky that had brought him to her, and if that same being would listen to her now. Clasping her hands together, Sango whispered, "Please, Kami-sama, if I can't have him, please let him be happy. Please…"

"Sango-chan."

The princess opened her eyes—she supposed that she'd closed them before in prayer—and saw King Ouji striding toward her calmly. As it was custom in the kingdom, Sango curtseyed as low as she could, squeezing her eyes shut so that he wouldn't see the tears that had recently formed in them. "Hello, father." Remembering why she was there in the first place, she quickly added, "I apologize for not coming to you as soon as I'd heard your summons. I was held up, and…"

The ruler held up a broad hand. "It's fine Sango, you're forgiven."

"Thank you, father," Sango said, rising.

After a moment's pause, the king said, "Are you alright, Sango? Your face is flushed, and you're breathing heavily."

"I'm fine, father," said the girl dismissively. More silence. Desperate to keep her thoughts from returning to Miroku, Sango said, "At any rate, why did you call me here?"

King Ouji smiled widely, eyes glistening with pride. "Sango, I wanted to tell you congratulations. You are now engaged!"

Sango's eyebrows shot up. She'd expected those words to be said to her at some point, but not now, not after all she'd been through. "That's… great," replied the princess, forcing a smile. "Might I ask who my future husband is?"

Placing an arm around his daughter's shoulder, the man informed her, "Actually, you've met him before, about three years back, I think. Do you remember Prince Naraku?"

Sango felt the color drain from her face as she half listened to her father, half mentally recoiled in horror.

* * *

A few hours later, Sango found herself stumbling into her bedroom, still reeling from the news from her father. Kagome was ready and waiting for her on her bed. "Congratulations," said the servant impassively, knowing full well of what had happened between Sango and her betrothed three years ago. 

Sango looked down at Kagome with bloodshot eyes. "Why do you look so solemn?" inquired the princess detachedly. "This is supposed to be a happy time."

"Not so happy for you," pointed out the lesser of the two women.

Sango flopped backwards on to her bed, sighing heavily. "So what if Naraku's not my dream man? At least I'll be taken care of somewhat, and since he's the heir to his kingdom, too, our lands will become one, and that'll help us to unify the country. Anyway, father said that he's already on his way—there's no stopping him from coming now." The princess closed her eyes and curled into a fetal position, turning on her side so that she faced away from Kagome. The lady-in-waiting rubbed her superior's back lovingly. "Sango-chan, I'm sorry. If there's anything I can do for you, anything at all…"

"Actually, Kagome-chan," said Sango, perking up slightly, "There is."

"What's that?"

Sango turned on to her stomach, propping her feet up on a mound of pillows and resting her head in her hands. "Tell me about Inu-Yasha. Why do you love him?"

The servant girl knocked on Sango's head, a confused look on her face. "Sango-chan? Is that really you in there? Has this whole Naraku thing gone to your head?"

"Nope. I'm just curious."

After shooting another strange look Sango's way, the lady-in-waiting sighed and folded her hands. "You're asking me to explain something indescribable. Even now, I'm still confused. I mean…" Kagome trailed off and turned to her friend, eyes shining like those of someone under a spell. This was the look she usually got when speaking about her husband. "You remember when Inu-Yasha was new to the guard two years ago, right?"

"Do I ever," said Sango, turning on to her back, looking at Kagome upside-down. About twenty months ago, Inu-Yasha had stridden confidently on to the palace grounds a rude, brash individual. Of course, he still _was_ rude and brash, but at least he didn't strut around as though he owned the place anymore.

"Then I don't need to remind you," said Kagome, peering down at the princess from her seated position. "That first day, I found him sleeping in the tallest tower while he was on duty. I went over and shook him gently to get him up so he wouldn't get in trouble, and the next thing I know, I'm getting an earful about how horrible I am."

"Typical Inu-Yasha," said Sango distantly. She had heard this part of the story at least twenty times, one for every month the guard had been living on the castle's grounds.

"Were you expecting any different? At any rate, I hit him and left him there, the both of us clearly pissed off. But… even still…" Kagome sighed almost in a lovesick way, and Sango, at the noise, propped herself up on one arm, attentive. Though Kagome often told and retold stories to the point where Sango had them memorized, this part was completely new to her. "…I couldn't get him out of my head," said the servant girl finally. "At the time, I hated him and even wished he was dead a few times… but I still couldn't stop thinking about him… I… well, there was something about him that I just couldn't forget about… that I just couldn't hate… so, eventually, I confronted him about how I felt and… well… now I'm married to him."

Sango sat in stunned silence for a moment. She couldn't believe how similar Kagome's case and her own were. After all, even though Miroku had first appeared to be the Prince Charming that Sango had always dreamt of—though she'd never admit it, of course—he, honestly, annoyed the crap out of her, just like Inu-Yasha had annoyed Kagome. That didn't stop her, however, from thinking about the dark-haired guard and, eventually, liking him so much.

Not that she'd admit _that_ either.

"Why?"

"Wha'?" asked Sango, coming out of her temporary trance.

"Why do you want to know about me and Inu-Yasha? You really aren't the sort of person who cares about romance, so it's weird hearing you ask."

"It really is nothing…" Sango denied, a blush creeping up her cheeks.

"So, who is it?" Kagome asked, leaning toward her friend.

"What?"

"Who do you like? It's obviously not Naraku…"

"Kagome, really, it's no one…"

"Could it be that Prince Takeda guy who was here the other day?"

"Kagome, stop it…"

"Or maybe Koga from the guard?"

"Shut _up_, Kagome." _It's only a matter of time…_

Kagome's eyes widened as something clicked in her mind. "It's Miroku." Sango stayed quiet, her face a vibrant shade of red. That was all that Kagome needed. She smiled and clapped her hands together in both joy and triumph. "Sango-chan! You're in love with Miroku!"

"I do not love him," said the girl through gritted teeth.

"Sure you do! I mean, you're blushing heavily enough! Aw, that's really cute, falling for a guard like that. I never expected it from you, of all people."

"But really, Kagome…"

"Wow," breathed the servant girl, marveling at the thought of Sango and her new love interest. "Sango and Miroku. Miroku and Sango. Your names sound really good together, do you know that?"

"Kagome, please, listen to me for a second." The lady-in-waiting turned to her superior, her smile beginning to fade. "What is it, Sango-chan? Is something the matter?"

Sango sighed. "_Yes_, something's the matter! I don't love Miroku!"

"Sango-chan…"

"I mean, _sure_, he's a great guy and all, but I'm getting married to someone else! And even if I wasn't, guards can't even get married in the first place! Don't you see, Kagome? All this talk of love, and me loving him… it's never going to happen! There's no way I can love him! None!" Finishing her rant, Sango moved about on the bed so that her head lay on the pillows, crossing her arms stubbornly. "I'm going to bed, Kagome-chan. You're dismissed."

"But, Sango-chan, you still haven't gotten into your bedclothes…"

"I can dress myself, thank you very much," said the princess mulishly. When the servant refused to move, Sango's voice turned more forceful. "Good _night_, Kagome-chan. You can go now."

After a moment, Kagome nodded. "Alright, then. Sleep well, Sango-chan."

Sango stayed still on the bed, waiting for Kagome to leave. It was only after the princess heard the door to her room close that she sighed dejectedly, trying to hold back her tears. _It doesn't really matter anymore whether or not I really do love him, _she thought sadly. _I mean, I am engaged to Naraku, and if I try to pursue a relationship with Miroku, we'll both risk getting in trouble._ The cheerless female sighed again, looking out her window at the guard's quarters. One by one, the lights in each of the one-roomed huts the guards slept in flickered out as their occupants stumbled into their beds. Deciding that she should do the same as they, Sango pulled on a nightgown and fell back into bed, staring at the ceiling for what seemed like hours. _Tomorrow, I'll have to tell him good-bye, _she decided. _I can't keep seeing him like this knowing that I can never be with him. But still, it's strange,_ she thought, turning on to her side and pulling the sheets up and over her head, _I really don't want to do that. I've got the feeling that… once I say farewell, I'm going to miss him. So much._ Sango felt her eyes flutter closed, as she drew the covers more tightly around her. _So… does missing him mean that I really do… love him?

* * *

_

**End chapter.**

Gargh… finally done! ((hits head on keyboard))

vc mnjuj 8iuk,n m

Yup, that's what I typed. It probably means something to someone.

And with that, I say to you, my wonderful readers… review! Make me hyper! Pray that I don't kill my math average! Yell at me to go to sleep! Mwar… I'm really tired all of a sudden…


	5. Day Five

((Rereads previous author's notes)) Am I really that temperamental? I need to relax more…

I don't want to ramble as much as I did last time, so, to be brief, I'll just say that I had a lot of fun with this chapter. Not sure why, though; there's just something about these full-emotional spectrums that are just so _entertaining_. Or perhaps that's just the sleep-deprived, sugar-high part of me talking. Ah, well. Please enjoy!

* * *

**Day Five  
**  
"I see… so you came to say good-bye, then?" 

"Y… yes, kishi-sama, that's correct." The next day, Sango had returned to the courtyards and, after finding Miroku at the same place she had the previous two days, began to walk along the dirt path with him. Normally, just strolling alongside the guard would have set her at ease and made her content. However, no joy could come out of today's encounter; Sango knew this needed to be the last time she saw him.

"Have you found a suitable husband, then?"

"Well… my father has. But, yes, I'm engaged now."

Miroku nodded. "That's what I thought. Everyone on the grounds has been speaking of nothing but a prince from a distant land coming here tomorrow, and your suitors have stopped appearing as well."

Sango involuntarily moved her head up and down and turned away, having nothing to say to that. After all, how could she possibly try to hold a conversation with him when she was so sorrowful? At this moment, walking down the pathway in silence seemed like the only thing she could do that wouldn't result in even more despondency on her part.

"Sango?"

"Huh?"

Miroku's eyes shone with a barely perceptible sadness, one that greatly resembled her own distress. "We're approaching the throne room. Shall I drop you off?"

Sango declined her head. "Yeah… thanks… but…" She trailed off, blushing.

"But…?" Miroku asked expectantly.

"I… I don't want to go."

Miroku smiled in an attempt to please the girl beside him. "It's alright, Sango. I'm sure your husband will be a fine man."

Sango looked up in bemusement before she puzzled out his words. _He thinks I'm still talking about getting married. I guess that makes some sense, but… but, in truth I just don't want to leave him… the one person who makes me so happy…_ "It… it isn't that…"

"Sango…" The princess forced herself to meet the guard's concerned gaze. "Is there something you're trying to tell me?"

Sango felt her face heat up at his question. There was so much she did want him to know, but so little that she could say without feeling so upset. Trying to avoid saying something that she'd regret, Sango decided to play along with his assumption. "Well… I… I don't think I'm really up to the task of being the queen. I mean, when you think of a woman like that, you imagine a dainty, polite, pretty lady, and Kami-sama knows I'm none of those things…"

Miroku's eyes widened. He hadn't really expected _that_. "Sango… do you really think that you're not pretty?"

Sango stood with her back straight, her self-assurance nearly tangible. "I don't think that; I _know_ it."

The princess followed the guard's mouth with her eyes as his jaw slowly dropped open. "You… you must be joking. After all…" Miroku managed to close his mouth for a second, and he took a step closer to her. "…you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

Sango's arms, which had since been crossed, suddenly dropped to her sides. "W… what?"

Miroku took another step. "How is it that you can't see how lovely you truly are?" he said, his voice barely audible. "That you ignore everything good about yourself and focus only on the imperfect?" As the guard narrowed the space between them, Sango came to a solid realization; he was absolutely right. After all, didn't she subject him to the same small-mindedness that he'd just spoken of when she'd first seen his perverted side? When he had revealed that part of himself to her, she had immediately labeled him as a horrible person, never stopping to consider all of his good qualities, those that she had seen so much of in these past few days. Her illiberality was a personality quirk of hers that she loathed and that wouldn't go away, no matter how much she tried to push it aside. But… somehow, after spending those few days with Miroku, it had disappeared for a time, and, since it was gone, she could finally see how wonderful the guard really was.

Sango stepped back slightly in response to his nearness. "You… you really can't mean that. How can you possibly think I'm beautiful?"

"It's as plain as day, Sango," he susurrated, his voice as soft as his breath on her cheek. The girl blushed at the sensation and looked away, but the knight placed a hand on her chin and tilted it up toward his face, forcing his gaze to meet her own. And, of course, she could tell from the eyes she now looked into that he was being sincere. "But it's not just your outward appearance that makes you so lovely; your inner beauty is involved as well. I've never met a more intelligent, strong-willed, and passionate person. Sango… you are all of those things and much more. And those are what… I love about you."

Sango barely managed to force out, "Love…?", but really couldn't say much else as Miroku had since pressed his mouth against her own. The girl would have gasped if she'd had any air, or a mouth, for that matter. But the fact that he was now kissing her wasn't what surprised Sango the most. In his last sentence, he'd used the world "love". So, did that mean that Kagome had been right? Did he really love her? And, at that, did she really love him?

The girl suddenly became aware of a high amount of pressure building in her lungs—she needed to breathe! Withdrawing, Sango inhaled shaky mouthfuls of air, finally realizing just what Miroku had done. "K… kishi-sama…"

Miroku took his hand away from Sango's chin and looked away, eyes downcast. "Forgive me, Sango… I had completely forgotten that what's happening between us isn't right…"

The guard continued to stand, unmoving, giving Sango time to understand him. Just yesterday, she'd refused to be held by him, saying that their being together was wrong. And what she had said was true, for wasn't it also true that guards weren't allowed to romantically interact with any woman, much less an engaged princess? Sango knew full well that her being near the knight would get them both in trouble, and, seeing as she would soon be leading her country as queen, her frequent rendezvous with him would probably ruin her reputation and make her people mistrust her. But still…

…at the same time, what they had been doing… nothing had felt more right. Just looking at Miroku made the princess' heart turn over, and feeling him kiss her like that literally took her breath away. _That's all I've ever really wanted, _Sango thought, _and he's given it to me. He makes me happy, makes me feel good about myself. And… and just as my so-called beauty is the thing that he loves about me, that feeling he gives me is what I love about him._

And with that, she threw her arms around him and kissed him fiercely.

And, after recovering from the initial shock of having his breath stolen away from him, he kissed her back.

For did it really matter anymore what was right and wrong?

Not now, it didn't, and that thought carried the two through the next few minutes, all throughout which their mouths never parted, and even after pausing for air, neither could tear themselves away from the other.

Finally, after quite some time, Sango's mouth grew numb, and she pulled away, panting. Nothing Naraku had done to her three years ago—or anything any other boy had done to her, for that matter—had ever filled her with the joy Miroku gave her while they had kissed. "K… Kami-sama…"

A quiet chuckle escaped Miroku's lips as they morphed into the shape of his characteristic smile. "Indeed," he whispered, knocking his forehead against hers and pulling her closer. Sango felt her mouth tug upwards too as her eyes closed in contentedness. What was it about him, exactly, that made her so happy? Made her feel so… complete? Before him, there had been something missing inside of her, a void there that just wouldn't fill. But, these past five days, Miroku had gradually added to that space until it was whole, as though he had assembled a stained-glass window in her heart; every piece of colored glass hadn't been special alone, but when together and fitted masterfully inside her hollow frame, their union created something beautiful. Inside of Sango, now, was that beautiful thing. And it was all because of him.

Sango slid her head down to his chest, burying her face in his warmth. The guard's arms shifted to fit her new position and settled just below her waist, his head lying above her own. Nothing felt better than to be with him now. But, somehow, Sango couldn't fully enjoy the moment just yet. "Kishi-sama?"

"Yes, Sango?"

The princess paused for a moment, choosing her words carefully. "If… perhaps, if I talk to my father, he'll cancel my engagement to Naraku and let me…" She took a deep breath. Once those words were said, there would be no turning back. He would either accept or reject her. Sango desperately hoped for the former. "…let me wed you. We could be together. Just the two of us. We wouldn't have to worry about my suitors or Naraku or anything anymore."

Sango vaguely felt the muscles in his face twitch, signifying that he was grinning. "I'd like that."

Sango stayed still happily for a few moments. He'd accepted her. She'd basically just asked him to marry her and he'd accepted. But, of course, the most difficult part of the agreement was to get her father to allow it. "So… maybe I should go talk to him now."

Miroku removed his arms, the girl still trembling in the places where his skin had lain. "Alright. I'll see you soon, then?"

Sango nodded. "Mhm. Um… good-bye." She turned to go, but was stopped by a kiss planted on her cheek. She blushed instinctively, but then remembered that she needn't worry about his ardent tendencies anymore. Just as he'd accepted her proposal, she'd accepted all of him, including his more romantically-inclined side. And with this acceptance came many kisses on her part. Of course, to Sango, kisses from Miroku were like the pastries she'd enjoyed as a child—she could never have just one. She wanted another and another and another, and pretty soon, the good-bye dragged on longer and longer, turning into a heart-warming hello instead. But Sango didn't care. Now that she had him, nothing could take him away from her now; nothing…

"KISHI-SAMA!" A voice, gruff, surly, and possibly even enraged, sounded from perhaps twenty feet away. The couple pulled apart, though they still clung to each other's waists or necks, and, turning, saw three guards, who pointed their spears straight at them, ready to plunge their tips into the lovers' skins if necessary. The three of them formed a V, the one in the middle standing closest to the pair. Of all of them, it was he who seemed to most infuriated, although his current mood contradicted his otherwise playful personality.

"Koga-sama…" whispered Sango, still short of breath. Standing behind him were Ginta and Hakaku, whose gazes darted back and forth between the twosome and their idol.

Koga lowered his spear for a moment, crossing his arms and chuckling. "Well, well, well," he murmured as though he was mocking them, which, knowing him, he probably was, "What do we have here? An amorous guard romancing an affianced princess, hm?" He laughed warmly to himself at his discovery, prompting Sango to say, "He… he wasn't 'romancing' me, per se…"

"I know what I saw, Sango-sama," cut off the guard, holding up a hand. Ginta and Hakaku immediately made the same motion, muttering, "Yeah, yeah, we saw, _princess_, don't lie to us guards…"

Koga stopped his followers from saying anymore with a wave of his hand, and, turning back to his colleague and employer, flippantly said, "Well, seeing as guards aren't allowed to be with women, and engaged females shouldn't be committing infidelity, I'm afraid I'll have to report the two of you to the king…"

Miroku cried, "Report!" at the same time Sango said, "Infidelity?" Both tried to argue different things at once, but stopped once they realized that just stepping all over each other's words wouldn't get them anywhere. Koga smirked dangerously, knowing he had the upper hand in this situation. "Sango-sama, you are an engaged woman," he explained. "Technically, you've already promised yourself to another. Don't tell me making out with that guard over there doesn't qualify as cheating." Sango opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by Koga's piercing blue eyes. The guard next turned to Miroku. "And _you_!" A pause ensued, after which Koga laughed sardonically. "As you might say, Miroku, reporting the two of you… it's all a part of a guard's duty!" And, in the blink of an eye, Koga dashed away to the palace entrance, followed closely by Ginta and Hakaku. Miroku and Sango stood, frozen to the spot, until, a few minutes later, ten more guards arrived, half leading Sango toward the throne room and half wrapping chains around Miroku's arms, prodding him in the opposite direction. It was only after Sango turned around and met a pleading glance sent her way by her lover did she realize how hopeless their situation seemed.

* * *

Sango strode down the hallway, her footsteps reverberating off of the lofty walls and high ceiling that surrounded her. She bit her lip, drawing forth a single drop of blood, and closed her eyes, trying to repress the nervousness playing in her eyes. After an hour of waiting around like an idiot in the throne room, she'd been called to dinner by her father. Not wishing to see him slip into his crueler half due to a refusal on her part, she'd left her temporary prison at once. However, nothing she did or told herself now could quell the apprehension building inside of her. At the evening meal, she'd hear Miroku's—and, consequentially, her own—fate directly from the lips of the most powerful man in the kingdom. 

The princess pulled open a large wooden door on her left, almost expecting a tiger like the one used in "the system" to leap out at her. Instead, she met the icy gaze of her father, who had obviously already turned callous and cold, and the awed stare coming from Kohaku. The look on the younger of the two's face spelled his emotions out fairly easily; it was almost as though he was screaming, "You did WHAT with a guard!" at the top of his voice.

Sango curtseyed, murmuring a greeting to her family, before sitting down next to Kohaku. She immediately picked up a silver spoon, busying herself by stirring the soup in a bowl in front of her around absentmindedly. The princess, due to the suffocating tension, groaned, setting her head in a hand as she watched ripples form and fade in her soup bowl. Eventually, she managed the courage to say, "Father? You've heard about my… situation, right?"

The man nodded as he dug into his meal hungrily. "Yes, Sango, I most certainly have, and might I say that I am incredibly disappointed in you. I promise you a fine husband who is sure to take care of you, and what do you do to thank me? You run off and sleep with a guard, that's what!"

A clatter sounded as Sango dropped her spoon in shock. "Sleep with… What! Father, I only _kissed_ him today! And, at that, he was…"

"Don't argue with me, Sango," cut off the king, his voice lacking the warmth and pride he had laced it with the day before. "Though I have no idea exactly how much you've done with that guard or how long this affair has been going on, the point of the matter was that you two were caught in the middle of a romantic act together."

"But… it was only a kiss!" Sango retaliated. "It's not like he was… I don't know, feeling me up, or something!" _Though, technically, he has done that, too. But saying that will be like digging my own grave._

"It doesn't matter what it was!" King Ouji boomed, his voice so loud, it made undulations in Sango's soup. Both Sango and Kohaku gasped. They knew that, when their father took on this tone, he was seriously fed up. "The important thing," the ruler continued, "Is that you two were romancing each other. That means that, you, Sango, have committed infidelity."

"No, I haven't!" Sango argued back, standing now. _I'm not even married yet! How can that possibly count as perfidy?_

The king crossed his arms, eyes narrowing. "Then tell me what went on between you two."

Kohaku looked up at Sango, both fear and fascination evident on his face. He knew that the ping-pong match between father and daughter was still going strong, and, while the older one had just served the ball, Sango now had to return it. The girl looked down at her hands, sitting again. "It… it wasn't like that … he was… I… it was just…" Somehow, she found herself describing what she'd felt during that time than what had actually happened. "I was paralyzed… there was… nothing… nothing I could do…"

Sango realized her mistake right after she'd made it. She'd fumbled while trying to hit the ball, costing her the game. King Ouji, meanwhile, looked at her with new eyes. "Sango… are you saying that… that that man _forced_ himself on you?"

Sango looked up. Now she'd really screwed up. What could she possibly say? What could she do? What _should_ she do? But, then, what would her father do back?

His daughter's silence was all that he needed. King Ouji rose from the table, though he still wasn't satiated yet, and left the dining room. As he exited, he said, "I should have known; that man had a reputation for lechery to begin with… why I even let him near Sango in the first place… he needs to be punished. And, for that, I'll need a… a tiger, yes, as ferocious as I can possibly get, and an extremely beautiful woman, one that will hopefully help to keep his hands off my daughter…"

Sango gasped. A lady? A tiger? Punishment? Was he saying what she thought he was? "Father… what's going to happen to Mir… to the guard?"

The king had since slammed the door to the dining room shut. However, even through the thick wood, Sango could still hear his voice echoing off the corridor's walls. "That guard… in two days' time, he'll be participating in 'the system'."

* * *

Kagome walked quickly as she cut through the courtyards, a heap of clean sheets for Sango's bed piled in her arms. Despite the set look on her face, she was actually enjoying her work. Hell, of all the women who held jobs on the palace grounds, she was the one who loved her profession the most. In a time when women rarely left their homes to get jobs and support themselves, she was one of the rare few who had been granted an opportunity to pave her own way, and she planned to take as much advantage of it as she could. And, since at the end of this week, she'd be receiving her paycheck, a job well done on her part could very well earn her a few extra pieces of silver. 

The lady-in-waiting, however, was distracted from her beloved job by a group of shadows moving around nearby. There, no more than a few feet away, a man was being led in the direction of the dungeons. His arms were twisted into a painful-looking position, immobilized by tight chains wrapping around his limbs. Two guards held the chains at their loose ends, and they walked behind the convict, scowling. Though the captive's head was declined, thus making a shadow cross his face, a telltale ponytail at the nape of his neck gave his identity away.

One of the guards thrust his knee into Miroku's back, making him wince in agony and stumble forward. Kagome saw his teeth clench as a bead of sweat ran from the top of his head to his chin. Or perhaps this moisture was a tear instead.

The guard who had just hurt Miroku turned to the other one. "So," he grunted from behind his moustache, "This guy here is the princess' lover."

"So I've heard," said the second. "Wouldn't blame him much for choosing her, either; that's Sango's a pretty one."

"That indeed. If I ever got a spare moment with her, I wouldn't care much what would happen to me; they could force me to do 'the system', for all I care." He looked back at Miroku and, this time, kicked his thigh. "Like this bloke over here."

Kagome gasped. _Miroku has to go through "the system"?_ Kagome thought._ Exactly what did he do? And…_

_Oh, no_. She gasped, her eyes widening. _Sango…_

Strangely drawn to the guards' conversation, the lady-in-waiting stood still as they passed by her, listening in. "You know," said the mustached one thoughtfully, "There's an interesting rumor about the two of them going around."

"Do tell."

"Apparently, he forced himself on her."

The clean-shaven guard snorted. "That's ridiculous. Who'd you hear that from?"

"Supposedly, the princess said it herself. Passed through her very lips." Kagome drew in her breath at this new discovery. Sango would never have told on Miroku; it just wasn't like her. _But, if she'd been under that much pressure to think of an excuse, she may have had no choice…_

Peering past the darkness covering Miroku's face, Kagome finally got a good look at his eyes. They were spread wide, pupils dilated, his raised eyebrows helping the waiting maid to identify the surprise playing in his orbs. However, his skin, ghostly pale save a few red, sweaty patches here and there, told a completely different story.

He was afraid.

He was trapped.

He had seen that there was nothing he could do to help neither Sango nor himself.

As the guards shoved Miroku forward again, this time, into the dark hallway that led to the dungeons, Kagome bolted toward the castle, her destination being Sango's room. If what those men had said was true, if Miroku really _would_ have to go through "the system" because of her, the princess would, without question, need condolence. And fast.

In the place where Kagome had stood eavesdropping moments before, five crimson sheets fluttered to the ground like bleeding shadows, foretelling the blood that could potentially be spilt in the old stone arena in two short days.

* * *

When Kagome reached Sango's bedroom, she found that her master was already there. The princess stood with her back to the door, breathing heavy, erratic breaths, trembling hands raised to her moist eyes. Throughout the day, Sango had done a good job at holding back her tears of both joy and sadness. However, once she heard Kagome pull the door open to her room, whispering her name and saying that she'd found out what had happened, she completely lost any control over herself that she had had left. 

Kagome saw her friend fall to her knees, her body and face crumpling like a wad of paper, and crawl forward, her hysterical sobs making her body shake, until she reached her bed. At this point, the girl lowered her head onto the pressed sheets, crying loudly, letting her tears spill and splatter onto the soft blankets. Its gentle texture did nothing to calm her. Nothing, not a sheet, not a friend, not _anything_ could quell her tears. Not anything anymore.

The waiting maid in the doorway ran to her side, lifting her friend's head onto her thighs. "There, there, Sango, it'll be okay," she soothed like a mother would to her child, stroking the princess' hair comfortingly. However, that touch just reminded Sango of how Miroku had patted her head earlier in that exact spot, only making her cry harder. The heartbroken woman held loosely onto her friend's knees like she had her lover's shoulders, sniveling between her irrepressible sobs. After a few minutes, she regained enough of herself to speak again. In spite of that, Kagome, what with the tears and loud moans of sorrow, couldn't make out most of her mumbles, save only three distinct syllables repeated over and over again: "I've lost him…"

* * *

**End chapter! **Only three more to go! Wow, my baby is almost all grown up... it goes by so fast! ((sobs)) 

Five minutes and a box of Kleenex later...

Better now! I'm starting to sense a pattern in my Miroku/Sango works; there's some sort of kiss involved, Miroku goes away at some point, the mood completely shifts from hopeful to sad, and Sango winds up sobbing in the end. Never fails. But, hey, now the action's really started! Do you think you know what's going to happen? I'd like to hear your thoughts!

The SAT II's for Bio are this Saturday. Wish me luck, 'kay? You can do so in you REVIEW!

((ahem))

If that didn't clue you in to review, I don't know what will.


	6. Day Six

((raises hands in the air)) The SAT II God had mercy! (Thanks to SanMirLover for making me laugh at that!) Mwah, they were easy. ((smiles))

I apologize for the wait; not only was this chapter extremely difficult to write, but I actually got inspiration for **Day Seven**, and we all know what happens when Lucinda gets inspired to write something… sorry 'bout that. ((scratches back of head sheepishly)) But, hey, that means that the next part will come out even faster, ne? Ne? ((nudges))

But enough of my ramblings. You guys really are awesome. Considering that I'm fairly new to this site, I wasn't quite expecting so many reviews. But the overall response I've had with this fic… I couldn't be happier. Thanks to you all! ((bows)) Enjoy this chapter!

* * *

**Day Six**

A trumpeter blew his instrument as a purple carriage rolled onto the palace grounds. Sango knew that sitting inside of that chariot was Prince Naraku, her betrothed, as well as her greatest fear. The girl sat restlessly on her throne, adjusting the uncomfortable tiara perched upon her head, half angry at the irksome crown she had been forced to wear, half frightened of what would happen when she met her fiancée. Would he try to force himself on her again? Would he threaten her? Questions plagued the princess like flies do a horse in the summer, and, no matter how much she tried to swat them away, they never stopped bugging her, even for an instant.

After a few more tense minutes, the double doors at the opposite end of the throne room opened, first revealing scores of guards and nobles who had accompanied the young prince on his trip to King Ouji's monarchy before Naraku himself. The soon-to-be-sovereign looked nearly the same as he had three years ago; his long, black tresses fell messily out from his jeweled crown, framing his nauseatingly pale face, hanging down to just below his waist. He wore an exquisite purple cape similar to Sango's father's as a symbol of his wealth and social power, and the other dark clothes that he was dressed in hung on his body perfectly. In brief, for someone who had assaulted her a few years back, Sango thought he looked fairly good.

However, she hadn't taken into consideration one—or, rather, two—details; his eyes. They were an unnatural shade of red and pupil-less, glistening with a menacing, evil sheen. Those eyes made him look more demonic than human, made him look more vile than benevolent, made him look less satisfied and more… hungry. Yes. He was hungry, though the princess didn't know whether it was more power, land, or even Sango herself that he desired. Still, there was one thing she was aware of; those eyes scared the soul out of her.

The prince bowed before the throne in Sango's direction, smiling in a way that struck even more fear into her heart. "Greetings, King Ouji, Sango-san." He said her name in a similar way Miroku had yesterday, but, unlike the guard's gentle, good-humored voice, Naraku's was laced with an invisible venom, one that could easily kill a weak-willed human being, and that voice that made Sango fear him all the more. "It's so nice to see you both again after all of this time."

At this point, Naraku lifted his gaze to Sango's, and he smiled evilly, almost as though, at this moment, he was already considering what he was going to do with his new bride. Under the careful watch of her father, who, after yesterday's events, obviously distrusted her, the girl said, "Hello, Naraku-sama. I'm… _glad_ that I've gotten the opportunity to see you again."

"Please, Sango-san," said the prince, "By the end of this week, we shall be married. You'll be seeing more than enough of me then." Sango winced at this reminder. "And you may call me 'Naraku'. I don't particularly care for honorifics."

The princess considered delving into her "I'm-the-princess-and-I-say-that-you're-Naraku-sama" speech, but she knew better than to do that, especially under the close vigilance of her father. "Alright, then. But, if that's the case, you're going to have to call me 'Sango'."

Naraku smiled again, causing chills to run down her spine. Bad ones. "But of course… _Sango_." The shivers only intensified after this. Perhaps he should call her something different instead…

"King Ouji?" Naraku prompted, sending Sango back to the real world.

The ruler smiled down at his future son-in-law. "Yes, Naraku?"

The prince looked keenly at Sango, that horrible leer still present on his visage. "If you don't mind, I'd like some alone time with your daughter. I require no more than, say, ten minutes of her time."

Sango opened her mouth to protest, but any argument she'd had time to formulate was immediately cut off by her father's voice. "Yes, please, spend as much time with her as you want! I don't mind in the least!"

He smirked again and walked up to Sango's throne, extending his hand, clearly trying to help her down from her seat. "Excellent." The princess, ignoring the hand, rose on her own and, unable to fight back under the expectant gaze of her father, followed Naraku out of the throne room and into an adjacent hallway. The prince shut the door to the room tightly, ensuring that not even a person with their ear against the door would be able to hear their conversation. Sango's soon-to-be-husband turned to her, still smiling dangerously. "So, Sango… how have you been in my absence?"

Sango resisted the urge to quirk an eyebrow. She certainly hadn't seen _that_ coming. "Uh… fine, I suppose."

Naraku laced his fingers together, bringing them to his chin and resting his head on the hand-table he'd just made. "Good. How's the kingdom's economy doing?"

Once again, she had no clue how to respond. "It's good. Um… I think that iron's in high demand, so there's a lot of trade going on for that. And prices on lumber are rising, too…" _What's he getting at, exactly? He certainly didn't pull me away from my father and the others for this useless discussion._

"Alright, then…" Naraku's eyes shone differently now. "How's your personal life?"

"I… uh…" Sango stammered before she stopped talking completely. What could she possibly say? While you were gone I met a guy who I made out with yesterday and now has been taken away from me forever, oh, and, by the way, I prefer him to you and never really liked you to begin with? She didn't think so. And, frankly, she didn't think he was expecting that, either. However, those eyes… they _wanted_ her to talk, wanted her to spill everything against her better judgment. Nevertheless, she fought back, murmuring, "Fine."

"Fine?" he inquired, adding more and more poison to his voice. "Sango, we shall be wed soon enough; if we, as husband and wife, want to make our marriage strong, we'll have to be able to speak in sentences containing more than one word, now won't we? Let's start again; how's your personal life?"

Sango felt her arms cross and her head lower defensively. "It… it's going well, Naraku. There's absolutely nothing new to report."

Naraku's left brow raised a barely-measurable amount. "Are you sure? No new friends, acquaintances… _lovers_?"

Once that last word left his mouth, Sango involuntarily twitched as she relived yesterday's events. "Um… no. No, I don't think so." _He can't know about him, not after only being here for so short a time. He just can't…_

"Really?" The prince's voice shifted slightly as he dove deeper into Sango, getting ever closer to the secret that she was desperate to keep. "Then what's all this talk I've heard about you romancing a guard?"

Sango bit her lip and stepped back. _He knows_, she thought frantically._ He's heard the rumors, and he knows. Oh, Kami-sama, how could this be happening?_ "Y… you're mistaken… I… I haven't…"

"Don't deny what you know to be true," the prince commanded sharply, his voice never losing that wicked tone. Sango looked up and saw that his eyes were narrowed, brows pointed downward angrily. At that moment he looked almost… cross. Like her father had last night. It was an expression Naraku barely wore, one that scared Sango nearly as much as his calm one. In the next instant, however, his face reverted back to its normal appearance, and he chuckled once. "You must understand, Sango, I've verified that information. In the past thirty minutes, I've asked seven of your servants whether you'd been caught with that guard. After a bit of prodding, they all told me the same thing, and the info that they've provided me with has led me to a solid conclusion; you, Sango, have been unfaithful to me."

Sango felt her legs move backwards until her back hit the door behind her. She stood, drenched in a cold sweat, that one thought still echoing in her mind; _heknowsheknowsheknowsheknowsheknowsheknows…_ The prince took a few steps toward her until they were face to face. He picked up one of her arms, both of which had been hanging loosely at her sides, and wrapped his hand around her wrist in a painful grip. "Sango…" The girl flinched as he drew a rather sharp nail across the area below her palm, the motion just enough to break the skin. "In two days, you will belong to me, and, from then on, you shall do as I command. So, if I hear one more rumor about you running off with other men, you can be certain that I will demand of you something rather… _horrifying_."

Sango clenched her jaw as she felt a drop of blood slide down her arm from the wound Naraku had inflicted upon her. Through her gritted teeth, she managed to say, "You monster. You… you _demon_."

Naraku smiled yet again and tightened his grip on her wrist just a little, squeezing more blood out from the cut. "I may be a demon. But, in forty-eight hours, I'll be _your_ demon." And, after he was sure that the pain that Sango was in had reached its climax, he let go of her, reentering the throne room moments later as though nothing had happened. The princess stood panting in the corridor for a few moments, clutching her wrist, feeling the vein underneath her hold throb in agony. With every beat of her racing heart, another drop of blood made its way out of the narrow slit Naraku had made in her wrist, and she traced every droplet with her eyes, watching the terrible miniature rivers they made. Nothing that had happened three years ago had ever frightened her as much as what he'd done to her now. He'd basically told her that she would be his possession, his to command and control. She'd be his puppet, be soulless, spineless, forced to perform and entertain against her will. She'd be easily manipulated, be punished without complaint, she…

…she'd live a hollow life.

_Why, oh, why do I have to wed him?_ Sango silently lamented, close to tears for the second time in two days. _Why can't he be more like Miroku?_

In that instant, Sango forgot her pain, and she gasped as thoughts of that man, that wonderful man, wormed their way into her mind.

_Miroku…_

That was it.

He could very well be the answer…

In a moment of rekindled hope, Sango dashed down the hall, dropping her wrist at long last. There was someone she really needed to see right now.

* * *

The two guards on duty in the dungeon building were Ginta and Hakaku, both of whom were lying asleep just outside the edifice's entryway. Sango sighed as she sidestepped them and opened the door, letting a sliver of light into the dark room before her. She had no idea why those two were on the guard to begin with, seeing as they were lazy, had short attention spans, and were far too blithe for a job where seriousness was a requirement. Nonetheless, had they been more vigilant, they certainly wouldn't have allowed the princess to pass into the dungeons, and it was for their oblivion that Sango was, at that moment, thankful for. 

Shutting the door behind her, Sango carefully made her way down the steps that led to the cells that housed prisoners, convicts, and wrong-doers alike. Seeing as this building was poorly-lighted, she walked slowly so she wouldn't fall and make a racket, one that just might awaken the two guards outside. However, the girl's trip down the stairs proved uneventful, and, grateful that there hadn't been any slip-ups on her part on the way, she traveled down the rest of the hallway, passing various cells on her journey.

Finally, after a few short minutes, Sango found herself outside of the cell she'd been seeking. Peering inside, she found a man leaning against a wall, his head lowered to his knees, which were drawn up to his chest. A tiny window lighted the room, making the man's purple eyes shimmer, even in the semi-darkness. "Kishi-sama!" she whispered as loudly as she could without drawing attention to herself.

The man looked up and smiled when he saw her face. "Sango…" Miroku stood and made his way toward the girl. Despite the fact that a door made of iron bars welded together separated the two, he was within touching distance, and Sango, as soon as he was close enough, interlaced her fingers with his, squeezing his hand tightly. Looking closer at his face, she saw that it was covered in a layer of dust, just like the walls of his cell, and that there were prominent red marks across the skin on his bare arms. He suddenly prompted, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you, of course!" she said, not even trying to hold back the smile that had been threatening to grace her lips since the moment she'd first decided to visit him. Finally, after the tumultuous events of that morning, she could seek solace in him. "Here, I brought you something…" Sango searched about a small bag she had brought along with her before producing something from its depths; an orange. Her gift to him made perfect sense; men such as him who were waiting to participate in "the system" were deprived of food and water until their chosen date. That explained why the days of their appointments in the stone arena were usually only two or three days after their accusation; if they were forced to wait a week or more to decide their fate, death of dehydration would claim them before a tiger could.

The guard's eyes widened subtly. "Sango, are you certain? If its peels are discovered in my cell, I could be in even deeper water…"

"It's alright, I promise," the princess said, thrusting the fruit into her lover's hands. "Besides, you're already going to participate in 'the system'; they can't make you go through that whole process again just because of a few orange peels."

Miroku nodded, seeing truth in Sango's words, and quickly began to unpeel the rough skin from the orange. "In that case, thank you." A brief paused ensued. "But, really, Sango, you shouldn't be here. I can only imagine how enraged your father must be as of now; if he were to have found out that you've seen me… that you've even _fed_ me… I wouldn't want to be the reason for your troubles…"

"It's alright, kishi-sama," Sango assured, smiling faintly. However, that smile was soon replaced by a look of sorrow as she realized something. "Besides, why should I worry about getting in trouble when I'm the reason you're here to begin with?"

"Pardon?"

Sango shied away from his expectant gaze, unwilling to see his reaction to her confession. "I… yesterday, I told my father what happened between us, and… well, my words came out the wrong way, and he assumed that you forced yourself on me because of them… and that's when he decided that you…" She stopped talking. He knew the rest.

"Sango."

The girl looked up at her name and met with Miroku's smiling face. "You're forgiven. The reason I'm here… it's not your fault in the least." He stopped for a moment to shove an orange slice into his mouth. After swallowing, he continued, "What happened between us yesterday… nobody could put the responsibility of that onto either one of us. It's impossible to think that falling for another is a condemnable act, one that deserves punishment."

"But… I'm engaged!" Sango exclaimed, her voice rising both in pitch and volume.

Miroku nodded. "That may be true. However, because you didn't love him, one must consider if it was so wrong for you defy him."

Sango opened her mouth, shut it, and then opened it again. Once again, she was under his spell. His words were enough to make her see things his way, believe the things that he believed. However… "That doesn't make it any less wrong."

"Sango…" Once again, the girl looked up. Somehow, she felt compelled to behold him whenever he said her name like that. It sent a wonderful feeling through her, that voice, one that neither Naraku nor anybody else could. "Love is never wrong."

There was that word again. "Love". It was so powerful in its simplicity, and it gave its power to those deserving of it. But that brought up a frightening question; were Sango and Miroku worthy of it? "We're not."

"What?" he asked around another piece of orange.

For some reason, tears stung at her eyes yet again. "No… _I'm_ not… I… Miroku…"

Sango gasped.

What had she just done?

Why did she do that?

Why, after six days, did she say his name for the first time _now_?

This thought just brought her tears out, and they spilled forth much like a warrior's blood from a battle wound. Sango let go of the guard's hand, and she ran back down the hall from whence she'd come. "I… I just don't deserve you!"

The girl continued to jog, despite the fact that Miroku called for her to come back. However, she couldn't go back; not now, not ever. Eventually, she reached the stairs and bolted up them in complete disregard of the amount of noise she was making. By now, Ginta and Hakaku were wide awake, but she ran by them so quickly, their weary eyes didn't have time to place a name to the mass of pink and brown dashing by them.

Sango ran in circles in the courtyard, trying to clear her head, before growing tired and slumping down by a tree, exhausted and out of breath. _Why did I have to say his name?_ she wondered, letting the shade of the tree cool her off. _I'm such an idiot; I know I'm never going to speak with him again, and yet I call him by his name anyway._ Clutching her knees to her chest, Sango lay her head on them, finding herself in the same position Miroku had been in just a few minutes ago, letting her tears fall onto the pastel-colored fabric that was her dress. She sat in silence before realizing that the tree she was sitting under was the same one that she had spent so much time with Miroku at, and promptly scrambled away from it, trying to quell the memories of him that were resurfacing. However, they wouldn't stop coming. She couldn't forget them. He'd become such a big part of her in such a short time, she just couldn't let them go. _But I have to,_ she thought. _I know that, either way the system goes, there's no way I can have him. He'll belong to the tiger or the lady, not to me, not to the least deserving of all people…_

But deserving or not, Sango knew, somewhere inside, that she just couldn't sit idling by while her lover was taken away from her forever. No. She needed to do something before his "system" tomorrow.

She needed to help Miroku.

* * *

Night fell soon enough, and Sango found herself in her bedroom that evening. Kagome had just finished undressing her superior and was about to leave until the princess called for her. "Kagome-chan, could I ask you something?" 

The lesser of the two women smiled a little in order to help to brighten her friend's mood, which, recently, had been quite somber. "Of course. Ask away."

Sango hesitated before saying what she had to. "When is Inu-Yasha on duty tomorrow?"

Kagome put a thoughtful finger to her chin and tapped it for a moment, forehead wrinkling in deliberation. Eventually, though, her face brightened, seeing as she had found an answer. "Well, he'll be patrolling the tallest tower from sun-up to sunset. Immediately following that, he'll be guarding the arena right up until the end of Miroku's system…"

Sango gasped. That had been exactly what she'd wanted to hear. "Uh, tomorrow evening… where in the arena, exactly, will he be guarding?"

"There's a secret room somewhere inside of it," Kagome informed her. "In there are the openings to the two doorways; you know, the ones that hold the lady and the tiger?"

Sango nodded. "Can he take me there?"

"What?"

"Tomorrow. Can he take me to the secret room?"

Kagome paused for a moment. "I don't see why not… but, why? No one who isn't a guard or the lady or tiger is allowed there."

Sango stood, her face set with a determined look that was common to her father during a time of war. "He'll have to sneak me there," she said. Turning to Kagome, she declared, "Tomorrow, I'm finding out which door holds the lady and which the tiger… and I'll tell Miroku where they are… I don't know how, but… but I do know… I'm doing it for him!"

* * *

…and there you have it! **End chapter**. So, now that Sango's decided to help Miroku out, which door will she lead him to? Seeing as I use a LOT of foreshadowing in my work, let's see if you guys can't figure it out, hm? 

I received a few questions this time around about my story so I'll try my best to answer them. To Brickwall847, no I won't leave you hanging like in the short story; the ending that I'll include is the one that the foreshadow points to the most. Once more, I'd love to see if you guys can guess the ending. There is, however, one clue that most of you seem to have missed that I thought should be rather apparent, especially if you've read Frank R. Stockton's piece before. But I've probably said too much! And as for your question, psquare… the title was conceived due to two factors; one, I wanted to do a play on the title of the work I drew my fic off of, and two… utter lack of inspiration. In that sense, you're over-analyzing things… but, at the same time, you have some really interesting ideas about what's going to occur at Miroku's "system"… and I should shut up now lest I let slip even more details about what's to come. ((buttons yap))

After reading my previous author's notes, I get the sense that it appears that I'm begging for reviews. Please don't take this the wrong way; I'd just love to hear you opinions on the chapter. Did you like it? Hate it? Think it strange? Please let me know, if you could. Wow, I'm talking a lot today, so, at long last… ((shuts up))


	7. Day Seven

Save the few paragraphs I scribbled down last week while working on **Day Six**, this entire was conceived in a hotel in Boston Friday night. Before I started writing, I'd gone to an Alanis Morissette concert, and, wow, was it amazing! I absolutely love her lyrics; they really get me inspired to write. ((smiles)) Of course, there are quite a few out there that do so, too, so, with that…

…thanks to SanMirLover, Veglma, medlii, moonyme, HotPink89, Lily the Frog Princess, Brickwall847, Gimp, psquare, Aria-wolfstar, and YamiTai for reviewing and reading, as well as those who haven't reviewed. Honestly, you guys get me pumped. I love you all! ((huggles)) I also enjoyed reading your opinions on the ending of S+T; a lot of you have some great ideas… I don't want to name names, but I'm sure you'll know who you are. I still have a few curve balls left to throw, though, so keep an eye out. Alright, with that said, let me shut up and let you read.

* * *

**Day Seven**

_There's something about Inu-Yasha._

_I really can't put my finger on what…_ Sango mused as the guard that preoccupied her thoughts led her to secret room in the arena. Sure, Inu-Yasha _was_ strong and reliable, as well as one of the few men on the guard that actually took his job seriously. However, there was still that something, that strange air that hung about him, that somehow intimidated the princess, made her feel less secure than she would have otherwise.

_…but it's there._

Of course, that wasn't to say that she didn't trust him. He'd been on the force for a little less than two years, and, ever since she'd been formally introduced to him by Kagome, Inu-Yasha had been a close friend of Sango's. Despite his aggressive and tetchy nature, he was kind and always willing to help. Just as he was helping her now.

"Inu-Yasha…" Sango whispered. She couldn't speak loudly now; if one of the many knights that lined the narrow passageway recognized her voice, she would be whisked back to the castle and be unable to help Miroku. That was also the reason why she wore a hooded cloak over her dress—after all, she only had one chance to help her lover, and she knew that she couldn't lose it because she'd made as small a slip-up as that.

"Hn?" Inu-Yasha grunted in response to his name.

"I… I can't thank you enough for taking me here," Sango said, trying to twist her mouth into a grateful smile. "You don't know how much this means to me."

Inu-Yasha crossed his arms and grunted. "Yeah, yeah, I know, you've told me enough times already. Besides…" He trailed off, a short pause ensuing, before he said, "It's the least I could do."

"Pardon?"

Another silence grew between them, though this one was briefer than the first. "You were the one who brought me and Kagome together," Inu-Yasha said quietly, his face deadly serious. "I can't forget that. So now, helping to bring you and Miroku back together… it's the least I can do… you know, to pay you back…"

Sango smiled, nodding. What he'd said made sense, after all; it was true that Sango had persuaded her father to tolerate the marriage of Inu-Yasha and Kagome, just as true as it was that, had she not stood up for their love, the two wouldn't have tied the knot at all. However, there was something that didn't seem right about his words, something… _strange_. "Inu-Yasha," Sango said once she had figured out what was bothering her, "You do know that, no matter what door Miroku picks tonight, there's no way that we'll end up together like you said… right?"

The guard stood still for a moment, his strangely-colored white hair prickling, before he continued to walk down the passageway at a much faster rate. "Of _course_ I knew that _Sango_," he said almost mockingly as he crossed his arms. "You think I'm stupid?"

The princess looked down, mumbling, "N… no…" That intimidating presence she'd deliberated about before was showing itself again. It vanished soon enough, however, for Inu-Yasha turned away and said, "Whatever. Just… just forget I said anything, okay?" The guard glanced back in time to see Sango eye him suspiciously. Trying to evade her dubious gaze, Inu-Yasha said, "So, you're that desperate to save him, huh?" When Sango didn't respond, he added, "Miroku, I mean."

Sango shook her head. "No, I knew who you were referring to. It's just that…" She said nothing, even though, this time, she knew what was troubling her. Inu-Yasha had confused "helping" Miroku with "saving" him. Sango only intended to do the former. After all, wasn't it true that, if Miroku chose the door concealing the tiger, he'd be ripped limb for limb, thus defeating the whole purpose of trying to help him in the first place? Last Sango had looked, dying at the paws of a bloodthirsty animal didn't quite qualify as being "saved".

However, couldn't one also say that, if he opened the other door, he technically wouldn't be saved either? His life would have been spared, sure, but his relationship with Sango… it would suffer. Tomorrow, Sango would be wed, wed to a man that threatened a fate worse than death should she even look at any other member of the male gender again. And, if Miroku was bound to another woman, attempting to pursue a romantic relationship with Sango would only serve to get him into deeper trouble. Perhaps, if that was the case, King Ouji wouldn't even let him have a "system" that could very well save his life and, instead, kill him on the spot. Sango didn't want that.

But, at the same time, she couldn't bear the thought of directing him to the door that hid the tiger. She could only imagine the carnage that would unfold; all of the blood that would spring from his wounds as the on-lookers in the stands screamed at the sight, the bloodied carcass of her lover lying on the floor of the arena, smeared with gore and the saliva from the hungry beast pawing at it, making his death all the more painful… Sango felt her hands move to her eyes, trying to cover them and to stop herself from seeing the terrible mental image she had created. _If I let him pick that door, he'll die… and it will be all my fault…_

But the _other_ door. The one that concealed the lady… she could picture that scenario clearly, too; a beautiful woman dashing toward Miroku with a big smile on her face and the guard, being the womanizer that he was, running toward her at an even quicker pace. How they would embrace and be bound forever by a priest's blessings and a kiss from him to her of love and recovered life. How they would walk up the stands, her in his arms, him temporarily forgetting the fact that his bride was not Sango, not the woman he truly wanted to be with… and how Sango would look at _them_! How the crowd would cheer, and how she would scream and clench her fists. How the audience would reach out to the new couple with groping hands, wanting to grab their attention and wish them well face to face, and how Sango, the raving, hysterical princess, would tear her hair out in both woe and jealousy that the woman cradled in Miroku's arms would never be her!

There was no way Sango could lead him to that door.

But the tiger! The corpse! The screaming! The crying!

She couldn't let him die.

But she couldn't let him live, either.

Not with her being happy.

No. Either way "the system" went, Sango would wind up upset and Miroku-less in the end. And that, Sango realized, was just what her father had intended. That was why he had made the guard go through this whole process in the first place. No matter what happened, he would be disposed of, and his daughter would end up married to Naraku. And with this revelation, Sango gnashed her teeth, fingernails digging into her palms, and cursed her father. _Damn him… damn him to hell!_

"Yo, Sango! We're here!"

Inu-Yasha's voice shook Sango from her mental condemnation of her father, and the princess looked up, brown eyes winking open and shut. In front of her were two burly guards covered in heavy armor and excessive body hair, whom looked down at Inu-Yasha and Sango like two birds might a hamlet in a valley. "What's your business?" grunted the slightly taller one.

"Yeah," said the other in a voice distinctly similar to the first's. "No one's allowed in here without a good reason."

Inu-Yasha jerked his thumb in Sango's direction. "She's a family friend of the lady in 'the system'," he lied. "Wants to wish her well." The royal female nodded, playing along, and drew the hood of her cloak more tightly around her head just in case.

Both of the beefy guards turned toward one another, nodded, and stepped to the side, allowing Inu-Yasha and Sango to pass. Keeping her head low, Sango walked by them, and, once she was certain that the two men had looked away, removed her hood and got her bearings. She was standing in the middle of a dark cavern that extended quite a ways ahead until it reached a door that led outside. To one side of her were two square openings, obviously the rooms the lady and the tiger were held in. _This is it_, Sango thought, breathing heavily in anticipation, _I'm here. All I have to do is find out which door holds which thing and get out of here. Then, I just have to decide…_

"You gonna stand there all day?" Inu-Yasha asked irritably. "Just look inside the rooms and let's high-tail it out of here!"

Sango winced at his words—there was that dour something again—and, not wishing to anger him more, peeked inside the room closest to her. Inside was a cage that filled nearly the entire space, its front pressed against the door before it. In it, a huge orange shadow stalked back and forth, growling slightly as it went. Sango just had to gasp. _Kami-sama! That… _thing_ is enormous!_ It would, without a doubt, be able to easily overtake Miroku should he pick its door; one swipe of its massive paws should be enough to subdue him, and another would completely mangle the poor man's body… the girl turned away from the beast; she didn't even want to think about that. _The important thing, though, is that I now know that this room holds the tiger, which means that the other must house the lady. I just need to make my decision and relay what I know to Miroku, and this whole ordeal will be over._ With this thought, the princess began to walk toward the exit she had seen earlier, but no sooner had she started moving was she was stopped by a voice that made her blood run cold.

"SANGO-SAMAAAAAA!"

Sango's eyes widened as the high-pitched cry entered her ears. She bristled, knowing immediately who it belonged to. But the identity of its owner wasn't what had surprised her; it was what that person was _doing_ in the secret room in the stone arena. _It can't be her… it just can't be…_

"Koharu-chan." Sango stated the girl's name impassively, barely able for force those four, horrible syllables out of her throat. She glanced over her shoulder just in time to see her lady-in-waiting charge toward her, the snow white dress she wore brushing the ground with every step she took. Perched on Koharu's head was a lacy veil sprinkled with diamonds and pearls, and her gloved hands clutched a bouquet of white flowers… flowers that only _brides_ were allowed to hold…

The waiting maid's clothing was enough to confirm Sango's greatest fear, though Koharu's joy-ridden voice solidified it even more. "Hey, Sango-sama, guess what? I was chosen as the lady in Miroku's 'system'! Can you believe it? We're going to be married and live happily ever after! Isn't that great!"

Sango didn't even bother to correct her servant by saying that she wouldn't necessarily wed Miroku, as the guard could select the tiger's door and be mauled to death instead. She just stood there, mouth agape, staring at the younger woman, who trembled excitedly. "Well?" Koharu asked, expectant. "Isn't that wonderful?"

_No…_ Sango thought, even more distraught now. _No it isn't! If he picks your door, you'll be wed to Miroku; MY Miroku! You can't! You just… can't!_ Despite her distressed thoughts, Sango managed to smile amiably and say, "I… I… yes… I… _am_ happy for you… Koharu-chan…"

Koharu positively beamed. "I knew you would be!" After a second, the younger woman's face grew softer, and she said, "Hey, Sango-sama?"

"Yes?"

The lady-in-waiting smiled serenely, like a mother would to a child, or a nurse would to a patient… or a handsome knight would to a princess. "Remember what I said a few days ago? That I wanted to find my special someone?"

Though it took a moment's reminiscence, Sango did recall what the servant girl had said to Miroku the day she had met the guard; "_I know I might be young, but, nonetheless, I can't wait to get married and spend my life with my special someone!_" "Y… yeah…" said the princess, uncertain where Koharu was going with this.

Koharu wrapped her arms around herself, smiling subtly as she stroked her bare shoulders. "I… I really do think that Miroku is my special someone. He's just been so nice to me, so _gentle_… no man has ever treated me that kindly before and… and it makes me feel warm inside."

Sango felt as though an invisible person had crept up behind her and tightened her corset, forcing the air in her lungs to come out sharply. At this moment, Koharu, her immature, annoying attendant, looked… _beautiful_. As she finished her speech, still caressing her skin, the girl looked lovelier than Sango herself did at her best. _It's all clear to me now,_ the princess thought, feeling herself get uglier and uglier with each passing second. _She loves him. And she's so open about it, too. I… I could never be that way. I could never admit anything like that to myself or anyone else. That's what makes her so lovely. That's why…_

_… she deserves Miroku more than I do._

Sango hastily brushed a newly-formed tear from her eye and said, "I… I know what you mean, Koharu. Thank you for telling me that."

Koharu smiled once more, this time stupidly, and she immediately lost any beauty she had acquired in the past minute. "You're welcome, Sango-sama!" Blinking, she added, "Oh, and, by the way, what are you doing here to begin with?"

It took a lot of effort on Sango's part to keep herself from groaning. _That voice…_ She knew that Koharu had spoken loudly enough to catch the two burly guards' attention, and that, if she didn't make her escape quick, they'd go after her. "I… I need to go now, Koharu-chan!" Sango said as she made a break for the doorway at the end of the hall. Once she was on its other side, the princess stood pressed silently against an adjacent wall in thought, considering the new piece of information she'd acquired upon seeing her servant in the wedding gown. _If I send Miroku to her door, he'll be married to Koharu. But, despite the fact that she loves him, it's obvious that he finds her annoying. That means that no joy can come out of their marriage, so I guess I can be somewhat happy about that…_

_Think again!_ A second voice—Kami-sama's, perhaps?—piped up. _Remember what Miroku said about the girl a few days ago?_

Sango flashed back to that time, remembering that he had pointedly stated Koharu's more irritating qualities before walking the princess back to the throne room… yes, she _did_ remember his words; "_…she means well… It's apparent that she tries her hardest to please everyone around her, and that she views you as a role model… she's a cute girl, Koharu. As strange as she may be, she'll make someone very happy someday_."

Sango's eyes widened.

"_…she'll make someone very happy someday._"

_You've got to be kidding me. He might actually be _happy_ wed to that woman?_

Images similar to the ones that had played inside her head before showed themselves again. Images of Miroku pulling open a door and revealing Koharu, smiling goofily yet prettily at the object of her affection. Images of Miroku holding the servant's hand as they made their way toward the priest called down to the arena from the stands. Images of Miroku _kissing_ her in a lip-lock that would bind them together as man and wife for all eternity. Images of the guard hoisting Koharu up and carrying her out of the arena. Images of Miroku—her sweet, considerate, beloved Miroku—glancing over his shoulder once before leaving the stadium in Sango's direction, his always-honest eyes meeting her horrified ones. Images of him shrugging his shoulders as he broke his gaze from hers in a movement that clearly stated that he'd found a more suitable woman to bear his children as he strode out of the arena—and out of her life—forever.

_There is no way in hell I'm letting that happen_, Sango thought, her blood boiling. _I won't let her have him. Even if she does deserve him more than I do. I don't care anymore. I stopped caring once he was taken away from me. I just don't care…_ The princess fumed silently, and her face took on a look characteristic to her father when he was enraged. Despite the fact that barely five minutes before she'd loathed the man, there was no denying the fact that she was his daughter. He had raised her, passed on some of his habits and quirks to her. One of these so-called quirks was a white-hot temper that, while normally hidden under a kind, sugar-sweet mask, could appear at anytime.

It had appeared just now.

And, suddenly, Sango found herself caring, despite her better judgment, more about the decision she was forcing herself to make more than anything now.

And with this came one thought;

_I hate Koharu._

_I hate her because she's annoying._

_I hate her because she's about to take Miroku away from me._

_And I hate her… because she loves him._

_I can't let him pick her door._

_I can't give her the satisfaction of snatching him away from my grasp._

But, at the same time…

_I can't kill him, just like that._

_It's unthinkable._

_But isn't it also unthinkable to give him to her?_

Sango couldn't think of a good answer to that.

_Well, ISN'T IT?_

"Keh. It took you long enough to get out of that room, _Sango_."

The princess turned at the voice and, in doing so, met with a pair of sharp amber eyes. "Inu-Yasha?" Sango asked confusedly, taking a step back so that she could see the guard more clearly. "You waited out here for me?"

"No shit I did," he said, crossing his arms for the umpteenth time that day. "I'm here to escort you to your stand in the arena."

"Oh," the girl said, nodding, "Okay, then. Um… shall we go?"

Inu-Yasha snorted, said "Whatever," and stalked down the hallway, his white hair hovering behind his head like a fluffy yet menacing cloud. Sango went after him immediately like a dog in hot pursuit of its owner, attempting to ignore his previous harshness and to instead be grateful that she had as good a friend as him.

"Oi, Sango?"

Sango looked up and saw that the snowy-haired guard was standing near a doorway, obviously one that opened out to the grounds surrounding the arena. Though he leaned against a nearby wall with a bored look on his face, his ocher eyes blinked expectantly at her, waiting for her to acknowledge his being there. "Um… yes?"

"Just…" The man growled slightly and took a deep breath. "Before you get out there and make your decision… I just want you to know… Miroku's always been a really good friend of mine." Once these words had been spoken, the rest came surprisingly easily, and he said them almost as though they'd been rehearsed. "Ever since I met him at the military academy four years ago, we've been together a lot. He's helped me through more tight spots than I can count. I owe a whole lot to him. But now, to see him in this situation, where he could wind up dead…" The guard trailed off and placed his hand on his forehead, ruffling his already-askew bangs. "Look, I just want what's best for him, okay? I… I don't want as close a friend as him to die."

Inu-Yasha slumped suddenly, as though a huge weight had just been lifted from his shoulders, and his outstretched arm dropped back to his side. His face took on a serene, sincere look, extremely similar to the one Miroku always wore when he was talking about something he felt strongly about. And, in that moment, any negative thoughts of him—of his intimidating presence, or his high-and-mightiness, or even that strange something that had worried her so much—left Sango's mind, only to be replaced by a sudden respect for him. _I never knew Inu-Yasha cared so much for Miroku,_ Sango mused, looking at the white-haired man in a new light. _It's…it's…_

_…now I feel horrible!_ _What am I supposed to do now?_

After another moment's silence, Inu-Yasha ushered the girl outside, murmuring something about how Miroku's "system" was in a half an hour. However, Sango heard none of it, what with this new factoid she'd just obtained. _If I don't send Miroku to the tiger and make Inu-Yasha happy, then Miroku's going to end up marrying Koharu, and that would make _me_ unhappy. And directing him to the tiger would make Inu-Yasha and Koharu and everyone else close to him sad, but… but at least he wouldn't belong to any other woman! Oh, what am I to do?_

"Hey, Sango, you alive?" For the second time that day, Inu-Yasha's voice brought the princess back down to earth. Shaking her head, she said, "Uh… yeah. Why?"

Jerking his thumb over his shoulder, Inu-Yasha pointed to a door behind him, one that Sango identified as the entrance to the royal family's booth in the arena. "We're here."

Sango nodded, and she murmured a thank you, even though she wasn't really concentrating on anything at the moment except the decision she needed to make, the decision that would determine Miroku's future. She started to make her way toward the door, but was stopped by Inu-Yasha's voice yet again. "Oh, and Sango?"

The princess managed to stop her thought process long enough to hear what he had to say. "Yes?"

Locking tawny eyes with brown, the guard said, "You have thirty minutes. Make the right choice." And, in a flurry of white hair, Inu-Yasha left the girl's side, his daunting presence surrounding him once more.

* * *

The only thing that stopped Sango from continuing to mull over her predicament was the trumpet that sounded a half an hour later, signaling the start of Miroku's "system". Looking around, Sango saw that the arena's stands were overflowing with spectators, squashed together in the stone seats as close as they could be, a few of the more overcrowded rows spilling out into the many walkways running down the structure. Some people were even seated on the arena's outer wall, peering into the building from overhead. No matter where anyone sat, however, all had come to the amphitheater for one reason; to see the fate that would befall the man that had loved the princess. 

The double doors on one side of the circular "stage" swung open, and staggering out from its dark depths came the purple-eyed guard. Upon seeing him, the entire crowd gasped, the movement making a ripple in the rows of people. Despite the dirt and grime that covered him, he was easily one of the most attractive young men in the kingdom. Girls in the stands swooned at his looks and then gasped yet again, realizing that, by the end of the night, he could be dead. A few people sitting close to Sango's booth turned around to look at her, eyes scanning her fair face and determining whether or not the princess really was worthy of a youth as handsome as the one in the arena. Sango took all of the looks and the sudden commotion in silently, for she, after thirty minutes of careful deliberation, had made her decision concerning her lover's fate and wanted to hold on to it so she wouldn't have the opportunity to change her mind.

The doors Miroku had come out of slammed shut, leaving two more in front of him, shut tightly, and similar in appearance in every way. Behind one, a tiger crouched in its cage, anticipating a potential meal just beyond the door. Behind the other stood Koharu, arranging the folds of her gown nervously, trying to look her best should Miroku pick her door. The trumpet blew again, telling Miroku to make his decision now. However, he didn't just yet.

With a clink of the shackles that clamped down on his arms and legs, Miroku turned around and, making eye contact with the king, bowed in his direction. King Ouji, who, as far as Sango could tell, was not affected by the sudden action, remained still, his face stony. Though he was looking down at his daughter's lover, watching his every move, he did not see him turn to Sango.

He did not see Sango look straight into his violet orbs.

And he, nor anyone else in the arena save a single woman, did not see Miroku raise an eyebrow posing a silent question that Sango knew he would ask; _Do you know which door holds the lady and which the tiger?_

The princess removed her gaze from his for just a moment to nod. Her head declined only a very small amount, a movement that could barely be considered a nod by most. However, Miroku had understood her motion. And, now, he had another question, asked through another quirk of his brow; _which door should I pick?_

Inside, Sango trembled. She knew from the start that he would ask her this. And she was able to interpret his vague inquiry with a sweep of her intelligent brown eyes over his dirt-encrusted visage just as easily as he was able to read her next movement.

Once more, Sango looked away from Miroku, and, barely managing to keep herself from shaking, turned her head to the right, looking down at the floor beneath her.

And, again, Miroku knew what she was trying to say.

She wanted him to pick the door on the right.

Satisfied with her response, the guard turned and made his way to the doors. Sango followed him with her eyes, a small tear trickling out of the corner of one. She immediately wiped it away. _I've made my decision; there's no more feeling sad about it anymore._

She watched as her lover reached the two doors, and, without a moment's hesitation, swung the one on the right open in one clean motion…

…just as a clock in a nearby village struck twelve o'clock midnight, the noise drowning out the cries of the crowd as they watched a figure come out of the door…

* * *

**END CHAPTER!** Hah! The cliffie! Honestly, some of you MUST have seen this coming—THE CLIFFHANGER OF DOOOOOOOOM! ((laughs evilly)) 

Twenty minutes later…

So, ya think you know which door Sango led Miroku to? Think you have an idea of whether King Ouji's going to have to hire a janitor or a priest for the events following Miroku's selection? I'd love to know! But the answer will remain a mystery for a few days… find it out in the exciting (I hope) conclusion of Sango and the Tiger! (Wow, conclusion… only one chapter to go… ((stares into distance)) ) And, as always, please review! See ya! ((waves))


	8. Day Eight

Well, this is it; the final chapter. This one was particularly fun to write, which explains why, for once, I managed to meet the "deadline" I'd set for myself. ((smiles proudly)) I was also pleased to see the reviews I'd gotten (fifteen for chapter seven; a new record for Lucinda! W00t!); a few of you guessed the door Sango chose. I'm happy to see that I have so many smart readers! ((gushes)) So, enjoy!

* * *

**Day Eight**

…the morning of Sango's sixteenth birthday had just begun.

However, the princess didn't feel like celebrating.

Not when she saw a trembling, female-shaped form step out from the door on the right.

"Miroku… sama…" it whispered, its voice shaking almost as much as its body.

The guard who had just been addressed nodded at it, donning his customary smile. "Koharu-san," he said simply in identification as two armored men came up behind him and removed the shackles from his limbs. Miroku flexed his arms and legs as they returned to their natural color, and, once he was done, reached out a hand to her, beckoning the lady to come out of her room.

At this gesture, Koharu began vibrating so quickly, her body was a blur. With a squeal of happiness, she leapt onto him, throwing her arms about his neck. A quiet sigh escaped Miroku's throat as he settled his arms across the small of her back, lacing his fingers together there.

Sango bit her lip as she watched them.

Hadn't he held her in the same way a few days ago?

It was an embrace that he should only use to hold _her_! It belonged to the two of _them_, not to him and Koharu!

Sango's jealousy peaked, and she bent in half and grabbed her knees as hard as she could, trying to channel her envy through the pain. _Don't forget_, she thought miserably, wincing at the agonizing sensation occurring on her legs, _you brought this upon yourself. You sent him to that door. You _allowed_ the two of them to be this way._

The princess' teeth clamped down on her lip even harder, the force this time enough to elicit blood. _But… but… it wasn't supposed to feel like this. I wasn't supposed to hurt so much inside. And the worst part of it is…_

_…is that the pain is my fault._

_Their happiness is my fault._

_My decision to spare his life…_

_…it's all my fault…_

Sango felt the pulse of her heart through the wound on her lip. The numbing pain that appeared and faded only to come back once again with every beat was enough to distract her from the tears pouring from her eyes. The tiny droplets ran their course down her face, mingling with the bitter-tasting blood on her maw and dripping from there afterward. Sango didn't care that the mixture was staining the dress she was wearing. She didn't care about anything anymore…

From beside her, the loud, booming voice of her father sounded, echoing over the entire amphitheater. "Summon a priest from the audience. Let the two in the arena be wed."

At these words, the expectant crowd, who had kept themselves from shouting until their leader made this declaration, got to their feet and applauded, cheering loudly all the way. The men on the rim of the arena whooped raucously, throwing themselves against one another in celebration. Sango thought her ears would explode from all the noise. She covered them and brought her head to her knees, wishing the din would stop and the morning would end. _The sooner this whole ordeal is over, the better._ But, even still, Sango knew somewhere inside that, no matter how much she stopped up her ears, no matter how tightly she shut her eyes, no matter how much she prayed for a miracle, the pain she felt now wouldn't cease.

King Ouji chose that moment to turn to look at his daughter, his face clearly expressing how overjoyed he was that the guard in the arena would soon be married and out of his hair forever. What he saw, however, wiped the smirk off his face. There sat the princess, bent and broken-hearted, in her chair, body quaking with the sobs that plagued her. The king even noted the blood on her dress. "Sango-chan," he said gently, not wishing to upset his oldest child anymore, "Please look up. Don't you want to see that man get married?"

After a deep breath in between tears, Sango managed, "I… I can't. I just… _can't_."

The ruler's expression, in the past minute, had turned from joyful to befuddled and, now, to cross. "That was not a request, Sango; it was an order. Look at me _now_."

The girl kept her head on her legs for a beat before doing as her father asked. Looking at her, the king was completely taken aback. Blood and tears swirled down her face, forming serpentine rivulets that wound down her chin. Her eyes were red and swollen, mirroring the color of her caked lips, and her nose was running. Her forehead was crumpled up as well, the skin wrinkled so badly, she looked more like an old woman rather than a sixteen-year-old girl. But, despite his surprise at her sorry condition, King Ouji kept the angry look present on his face and said, "Watch them, Sango-chan. And wipe your mouth."

Sango was just as amazed at his response as the king was when he saw his daughter's face. She was obviously in pain, and that was all he had to say? She couldn't believe him! She couldn't…

"We are gathered here today to join these two young people together as husband and wife."

The princess was cut off from her thought process by the words of the priest in the middle of the arena. Miroku and Koharu stood before him, the girl clutching her bouquet tightly in one hand and holding Miroku's arm with the other. The guard stood stagnant, a serene smile still on his face. He looked almost happy to be there, though not quite as much as Koharu was, of course. In fact, despite the apparent bliss, judging by the way he was standing… it looked like he was _waiting_ for something and impatient for whatever it was to hurry up and arrive. It was a queer expression, one Sango didn't know the meaning of. However, knowing Miroku, she was sure that his emotions were backed up with a reason; it was simply his nature.

After reciting a few more sentences that pertained to the marriage of the pair, the priest turned to the couple before him and said, "You two may now kiss each other. Once this is done, you will be bound together for all eternity as man and wife."

This was it.

The moment the onlookers in the stadium had been waiting for ever since they'd arrived and the moment that Sango had been dreading for even longer.

She could only watch as Miroku worked his arm from Koharu's grasp and used his now-free hand to tilt his bride's chin up to his face. Sango saw Koharu's eyes flutter closed as she slowly leaned forward in anticipation of the kiss, trying to drag on each moment as long as she could to savor it. Sango's hysterical mind perceived the sluggishness as Koharu's way of mocking her. Even still, despite how painful it was to watch the space between the two's mouths get narrower, Sango found she just couldn't tear her eyes away from the scene.

Nothing could take her gaze away from them…

…except for a flash of white to her left.

Somehow, Sango managed to look away from the couple and turned toward the movement she'd just seen. Considering that the whole audience was remaining still, holding its breath, waiting to applaud the duo in the arena when their lips met, the motion obviously hadn't come from there. No. It had come from _inside_ the arena. _But that's impossible_, Sango reasoned. _The only people allowed there are Miroku, Koharu, the priest, and the guards surrounding the area. There can't possibly…_

Sango gasped.

A flash of _white_?

_Guards_ in the arena?

The _best friend_ of the man now getting married?

Sango had just figured out that she'd seen Inu-Yasha streak across the stage of the arena when she heard a roar.

One that she'd heard many other times in the past, during the "systems" of those men who had, instead of choosing the lady's door, opened the _other_ one…

Standing there in the arena, snarling loudly, was easily the largest tiger Sango—or anyone else present, for that matter—had ever seen. Though its shoulders were hunched and it was crouched low to the ground, golden eyes scanning the enclosed area it was in, the beast's size was intimidating all the same. It was a wonder it was able to fit in that tiny cage inside the room! However, big or not, the point of the matter was that a bloodthirsty tiger had just been released into the arena, an animal that could easily overpower even the armored guards lining the edge of the stage.

An animal that could easily overpower the _un_armored guard standing in the middle of the arena, a frightened young woman clinging to him fearfully.

"Miroku…" Sango whispered, her eyes set on the scene playing out below her.

Even all the way up in the highest part of the building, Sango could still her Koharu's senseless babble pouring forth from her mouth as a result of her newfound terror. "Tiger… no! Not at our wedding! Miroku-sama! Save me!"

Koharu's would-be savoir did not respond to this plea, as he was currently fixated on the tiger just a few feet away. The beast lowered itself to the ground even more, locking ocher eyes with purple and grunting. Sango saw the muscles in its legs tense; it was preparing to attack her beloved guard.

"No… Miroku…" At long last, Sango's tears had finally quelled, replaced by a sudden panic; at any moment, she realized, that tiger could pounce on her lover and tear him to pieces. No amount of deliberation on her part could have possibly foreseen this occurrence; though he had chosen Koharu's door, he would be slain by the tiger regardless.

_But wait. _Sango's fear came to a screeching halt as a sudden realization gripped her. _Why would Inu-Yasha, Miroku's best friend, try to kill him? It makes no sense. But… but could that mean…_

_…could the purpose of the tiger be… to help _save_ Miroku?_

Out of the corner of her eye, Sango saw Inu-Yasha slip out from behind the door from which the tiger had come. Now her certitude in the fact that it had been he who she had seen pull open the door was assured all the more. In one hand, he held a sword, pulled from its sheath and ready to be used by its wielder. His other arm was hidden behind his back. The guard stepped out from behind the door slowly, glancing about himself nervously with each step. He looked like a criminal hiding from his pursuers, a person who walked stealthily as to guarantee that his motions would not betray his actions. As he joined the remainder of the knights now surrounding Miroku and Koharu, Inu-Yasha removed his arm from its hiding space and brought it into Sango's line of vision.

That hand clutched a long, thin spear.

One that Sango immediately recognized.

_When we first met last week… Miroku held it while he was guarding me at "the system" we were at…_

"Oi, Miroku!"

Inu-Yasha's voice rung out over the arena as he lobbed the spear at his friend, the weapon soaring through the air just as its user had intended it to. The thing looked almost graceful as it sliced through the overpowering silence that hung over the crowd, who gasped at the elegance of the weapon's fly through the sky.

Or perhaps they were gasping because the spear's tip was pointed straight at Miroku's heart.

At his friend's voice and the sudden stir in the crowd, the guard, at long last, tore his gaze away from the tiger's and watched as the spear sped toward him. He reached his arms up and over his head and unhooked Koharu's from his neck, not sparing a glance her way as he regarded the lance, not even looking at her as she fell backwards in shock at what was happening, groaning when she hit the hard, stone floor beneath her. The guard dashed from where he was standing, reaching up as the spear made its decline toward the earth. Miroku sidestepped the weapon's intended path perfectly so that he ran parallel to it and wrapped his fingers around its handle, skidding to a stop some twenty feet away from the great mass of orange hulking in the entrance to the doorway. At the abrupt movement, the tiger roared even louder than before and pounced, its huge body flying through the air just like the spear had moments before.

Sango gasped, having realized that, in turning around to grab the spear, Miroku's side was now facing the tiger's mouth. The hand that held the weapon was on the guard's right, while the beast was to his left, leaving him utterly defenseless against the jaws of the tiger. _It truly does look hopeless_, Sango thought as she watched the situation unfold before her. _But what Inu-Yasha did just now… it looked too practiced to me… I guess then…_

_…I guess I'll just need to trust them._

_I'll need to trust Miroku._

What happened next occurred so quickly, Sango was surprised she even remembered what had happened later. Miroku turned his gaze back to the tiger's and backed up, putting maybe another five feet between him and the beast and making his body perpendicular to its path. In a precise motion that probably took all of four years at the military academy to master, Miroku turned on his heel just as the tiger landed and threw the spear perfectly so that it flew just to the animal's right. After regaining the balance it had lost from its fall to the ground, the tiger snarled and charged toward Miroku…

…and, consequentially, stepped right into the path of the spear.

The weapon hit its target dead on, impaling the beast between the eyes, causing it to groan in pain. With this, Inu-Yasha raised his sword above his head and cried, "Slay it!" resulting in the twenty or so guards in the arena to unsheathe their blades as well. They, caught up in the commotion of the past few minutes, ran with the white-haired man and pounced on the tiger like savages, raking their swords across its flesh, staining orange with red. In time, the monster had been subdued to the point where it was no longer moving, when the blood ceased pouring from its wounds as its heart had stopped beating. At this point, Inu-Yasha looked up at Miroku, where he waited silently, anticipatively…

…and gave him a thumbs-up.

One that Miroku returned immediately.

Only Sango saw this signal between friends.

So only Sango understood its meaning.

_This is what they had planned all along…_

At this point, however, Sango heard a strange growling coming from nearby. She glanced about nervously, thinking fearfully—and somewhat incongruously—that the tiger had come back to life, before her eyes settled on her father seated next to her. The man was red in the face, his brows pointed downward in a furious slant and his hands clenched into white fists. Obviously, he hadn't expected the battle between the guards and the tiger either. Trying to look at anything but the king, Sango peered into the stage below her. She saw that a few guards had carried Koharu out of the arena—only her veil and bouquet remained there—and that others were attempting to haul the corpse of the tiger out as well. A few more were setting up huge incense jars at certain areas of the stage, sending the strong scent of cinnamon wafting into the air to cover the smell of the tiger's blood. Typically, this aroma signaled the end of the alleged criminal's "system", and, at this point, the crowd would start to get up and depart, chattering excitedly about what had occurred moments before behind the stone walls they were leaving.

However, everyone remained where they sat.

For Miroku's fate still hadn't been determined.

Sango turned to her father and discovered that he didn't look any better than he had a few moments ago. Lacing her voice with restrained curiosity, Sango whispered, "Father… what's going to happen to Miroku?" The girl saw his eyes slide in their sockets so that his gaze was now fixed upon her. "I mean… the tiger's dead. And Koharu… Father, she's only fourteen! She's not old enough to be married as of yet."

Apparently, Sango's undertone was louder than she had thought, for every head in the arena had turned to face King Ouji, his head a tomato perched upon his body. Through gritted teeth, he managed, "That guard… he needs a new 'system'…"

"Father, no!" Now Sango's voice was definitely above a whisper. Murmurs ran through the crowd as the spectators exchanged thoughts on the princess' sudden outburst. The voices were many and, from so high up above the crowd, alike to her, but Sango was able to discern one; "Perhaps she really _does_ care for that guard?"

The girl's breath caught in her throat.

That was a question that, for the past eight days, she had been unable to answer.

One that she couldn't, not when she knew that she would be wed on this night.

But, right now, in this moment, the answer came easily enough:

_Yes._

_Yes, I _do_ care for him._

_I've never cared more about any other person in my entire life._

_I…_

_I think, I _need _to care._

_I think…_

_…I need…_

_…him._

"Father." Sango made sure that everyone—Miroku included—heard her, though she could barely believe she was about to say what she was going to. "I… I think that… the reason all of this has happened is that… that it might be the work of… fate…"

Though the majority of the crowd took this in quietly, two pairs of eyes widened at these words. One set belonged to Miroku, for he himself had heard her fiercely state her disbelief in the rules of destiny just a few days ago. The other belonged to her father, who had listened to her skepticism scores and scores of times throughout his life. The latter's gaze grew softer, his face paler, and he looked down, blinking in surprise. He knew that her sudden change of heart could only be accredited to one person; the one he had hoped would die maybe five minutes ago. Eventually, words came out from his tight throat; "Do you love him that much, Sango-chan?"

The princess barely heard the shifting of a thousand bodies in the stands as they turned toward her booth to hear her answer; it didn't matter to her if they knew or not. It was something she needed to say, and the words wouldn't carry more or less weight just because a few more people had heard them. Smiling placidly, Sango murmured, "…yes… I do."

A pause ensued. The arena was so quiet, one would think that a thousand people had stopped breathing all at once. Then, from the king: "What are we to do about Naraku, though?"

Sango felt the smile vanish off of her face. Looking down, she mumbled, "Father, about Naraku; there's something you need to know. Three years ago… he tried to force himself on me."

King Ouji's head shot up, his eyes spread wide. He turned to his daughter, barely managing to get the words out. "How… Sango-chan! Why didn't you tell me?"

Sango sighed. "A few days ago, when you said that he was coming and that we couldn't stop him… I just… I felt…"

The king's voice was still heavy with the shock he'd just experienced. "Sango-chan, never keep something like that from me again!"

"I won't, father."

At this, the ruler grunted. "I should hope not. Well, in that case, we're going to have to bribe the man out."

"Huh?"

"Naraku comes from a poor kingdom," King Ouji explained. "I'm sure that we can find something in our hoard of gold and the like that he'll take in exchange for the cancellation of your marriage."

Now it was Sango's turn to be surprised. "You mean… I _don't_ have to marry Naraku?"

The king smiled, his malicious, angry side clearly gone for now, replaced by the benevolent gaze of a proud father. "Why would I allow you to marry a man that you would be unhappy with? Instead… Sango-chan, you're sixteen now. I think you can make your own decisions from here on out. Now, because you are to be married by the end of tonight, you must choose a husband. And Sango-chan…" The king made sure that his daughter was looking at him before he continued. "…you may select anyone you wish."

The breath completely left Sango's lungs, just as it had when Miroku had kissed her a few days before. She felt her head turn toward the guard in the arena, his purple eyes shining, face bearing that lopsided grin she'd come to love so much over the past week. Though her voice was a whisper, carried away by the slight wind ruffling her hair, Sango knew that everyone in the arena had heard her. Pointing in Miroku's direction, she said, "I choose him."

King Ouji nodded. "So you shall have him." For the second time that night, he called, "Summon the priest. The two shall be wed."

Sango turned to face her father, her confusion evident on her face. "Now? Here?"

King Ouji's body shook with laughter. "Sango-chan, Sango-chan, Sango-chan. A royal wedding must be big! Grand! Rememberable! And what better place to hold it than an arena packed with one thousand of your biggest fans?"

Right on cue, the people in the stands cheered, their eyes focused on the princess as she stood slowly and exited the royal family's booth from the front. In a dreamlike state, she walked down the steps of the arena between the rows, one thousand pairs of eyes staring at her. However, Sango herself was only aware of the gaze of one person, the one whose deep, beautiful, purple eyes were looking into her own.

As she neared the stage, Miroku strode forward to its edge. He face a stone wall about eight feet up that put some distance between where he stood and where the onlookers in the front row of seats outside were. Sango stood its edge, peering down at him from above. The guard, smiling, lifted his arms up, and the princess, at this silent signal, sat down and slid herself over the edge, falling right into Miroku's arms. She blushed madly at the nearness as she wrapped her arms around the guard's neck, holding him as tightly as she could. Miroku set her down on the ground, and Sango, after a moment of wobbling about, dizzied, found her balance. She also found herself wearing the veil Koharu had maybe ten minutes before, its various folds falling over her face perfectly, and clutching the bouquet of white flowers. When they had been forced onto her, she had no idea. But, no matter what, right now, she looked like a bride.

And, right now, she was ready to _be_ a bride.

The priest's words rang out once more. "We are gathered here today to join these two young people together as husband and wife."

As Sango listened to him yet again, she felt a sudden heat press into her left hand. Looking down, she saw Miroku intertwine his fingers with hers, his broad palm resting against her small, dainty one. For a moment, she was frightened; there were so many people here, so many people watching them…

But then, she remembered; she didn't need to be afraid anymore.

For the past week, she and Miroku had met time and again, though their relationship with each other had been forbidden by everyone. But, now, now that they were allowed to be together, it didn't matter who saw or who approved.

And, as the priest prompted the couple to kiss one another and Sango felt her lover's hand tilt her chin up towards his face, and, as she looked into his eyes and saw the true emotion reflecting in their depths, and, as she felt his warm breath meld with hers as a familiar, comfortable sensation pressed in on her lips, she decided that what it all came down to was that that was all she had ever really wanted.

* * *

"So Naraku's gone, then?" 

"Yes, he just left a few minutes ago," Sango informed her new husband as they strode down the hallway leading to her bedroom two hours later. "According to my father, he was awoken and shown increasing amounts of gold that he would be given in exchange for his withdrawal from our wedding. He refused all of them. But then my father showed him this tiny pink jewel he'd found somewhere —I think he called it the Shikon no Tama—and Naraku accepted it immediately. It's funny, though, I didn't really think he'd just pack up and leave, and with that small a prize, too."

Miroku closed his eyes thoughtfully. "From what I've heard, Naraku is full of surprises. Perhaps this is just one more."

"I suppose so." Suddenly, Sango said, "Oh! I completely forgot! How's Koharu doing?"

"Apparently, she's alright. She suffered a mild concussion from her fall earlier, but it's nothing to be concerned about. As per the man that treated her, the most damage it may bring is short term memory loss."

Sango couldn't resist laughing a bit. _Short term memory loss…_ Wouldn't it be funny if Koharu woke up the next day having no memory of Miroku, not even being able to recall that the man she loved had been that close to marrying her? It would be…

But, somehow, Sango could derive no joy from Koharu's plight. She knew that, if their positions had been reversed and it was she who had lost her memory, the lady-in-waiting would probably feel saddened by her superior's situation and take it upon herself to help the princess recover her memory, or, at the very least, get better, as soon as possible. With that thought, Sango smiled. Miroku had been right; Koharu, despite the annoying exterior, really did try her hardest and just wanted to do her best to make others around her happy. _Especially Miroku_, Sango thought fondly, gazing upon her spouse in contentedness.

What she saw, however, made her gasp, evidence of her good mood purged from her face. Because he wore a short-sleeved shirt, the skin on Miroku's arms and hands was in plain sight. Most of the exposed area was swollen or red, long, deep gashes running down his forearms in random spots. Sango could even make out the places where the chains that had bound him a few days ago had laid. To top the whole ghastly sight off, his skin was coated with a fine layer of dust, accumulated from the time he spent in the dungeons.

Gaping, the princess managed, "M-Miroku! Your arms…"

The guard blinked and looked nonchalantly at his arms, indifference playing on his façade. "Oh, this?" he asked casually, smirking a bit. "They're alright. The wounds will heal soon." Stroking one of the cuts with a finger, he added, "I never quite knew how sharp the lances of the knights were before. As they say, experience is the best teacher, hm?" Sango nodded worriedly, understanding that he meant that, during the battle between the guards and the tiger just two hours before, her husband must have gotten so caught up in the fight, he had suffered a few injuries. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

Miroku smiled, and, in doing so, completely obliterated the anxiety his wife had felt. "I am. Besides, what are a few scratches compared to the prize I won for my efforts?"

After a short blushing session, Sango crossed her arms and turned away from him. "So I'm your prize, huh? I refuse to be treated like a trophy, _kishi-sama_."

Upon hearing her call him by his title, Miroku groaned, slumping. "Back to 'kishi-sama' again, Sango? And I was just getting used to 'Miroku', too!" he whined, sounding suspiciously like a two-year-old boy.

Sango sighed and uncrossed her arms, looking down. Honestly, she was still getting used to calling him that as well. His name tasted strangely in her mouth, its syllables foreign and new. She supposed it was something she needed to become accustomed to now that she was a married woman. That realization brought forth a plethora of other things she should adapt to, the most pressing being that, starting tonight, they'd be sleeping in the same room. Sango had never had to share a bed with anyone before, much less a member of the opposite sex. She wondered vaguely what it would be like to wake up every morning and see his face, his mouth upturned in a sleepy grin as he greeted her at the beginning of her day. It was difficult to imagine. But, as he'd said, experience was the best teacher, so, somehow, she would have to adjust.

Looking up suddenly, Sango saw a familiar door in front of her, one that she saw every night before retiring. "Oh, Miroku!" she called, pointing to the door once she was certain she'd gotten his attention. "My room is right over here!"

Miroku laughed slightly. "I'm sorry, but don't you mean _our_ room?"

Sango sighed. Of _course_ that was what she'd meant; she'd simply forgotten. She made a mental note to add that to her list of things she would need to get used to now that she was married. Heck, the fact that they were married in the first place was still new to her. _I've really got a long way to go…_

The girl placed her hand on the door, preparing to push it open and enter. However, she couldn't just go to sleep and call it a night yet. There was something she needed to know. "Miroku?"

Her quiet yet inquisitive voice made Miroku look at his wife inquisitively. "Yes?"

Silence filled the hallway, broken a few seconds later when Sango asked, "Did you… in your 'system' tonight, did you and Inu-Yasha have a plan set up so that you could leave the arena alive?"

Sango vaguely heard a chuckle that obviously didn't come from her own mouth and, turning toward Miroku, noted the sheepish smile gracing his lips. "You saw right through me," he said. "I admit it; we did. Might I explain our course of action to you?"

"What more is there to say?" Sango stated. "In order for your plan to work, you needed to know which room the lady was in so that you could open her door and pretend to wed her. Then Inu-Yasha would release the tiger to pose as a distraction as the lady was disposed of. In that sense, both of the options offered in 'the system' would have been exhausted, the only reasonable thing left to do being to let the criminal—er, you—go."

Miroku broadened his smile. "Exactly right. I couldn't have asked to wed a more intelligent woman."

Sango fought back the urge to blush. Something didn't seem quite right in this whole situation. "But, Miroku, if you just needed to find out which door held the lady, why couldn't you ask Inu-Yasha to tell you?" A sudden possibility entered her head; _what if he used me just to find that out? I'll never forgive him if he did!_

The guard sighed. "There were, of course, a few kinks in our plan," he began, "One of which being how to get the information to me in the first place. Though it is true that Inu-Yasha did know which door concealed the lady and which the tiger, as he was guarding their rooms in the first place, to ask him to transmit that fact to me would only hurt him in the end. As you may be aware, Inu-Yasha has had a… _colorful_ history here at the castle."

Sango nodded, understanding. Inu-Yasha had probably been reprimanded more times for cursing, fighting, or otherwise acting inappropriately during work in the past twenty months than any other guard had during his entire career.

Miroku continued, "If Inu-Yasha were to have given that information to me, and, due to some error down the line, were to have been discovered having done so, the consequences for the both of us would have been massive. Inu-Yasha himself probably would have been relieved from his duties, taken away from his family, put into exile… the risk was too great. I needed to find out another way."

Sango looked down, eyes hidden by her scattered bangs. "So you _did_ use me… just to find out…"

"Sango."

The girl looked up to meet his gaze and immediately rebuked herself afterward for doing so. _Why the hell do I feel so compelled to look at him whenever he says my name like that?_ She really couldn't answer my question, as Miroku was already talking. "I didn't 'use you', per se. You decided on your own, so I've heard, that you wanted to give me that information yourself. And you told me what I wanted to know. And you sent me where I _needed_ to go. Sango… I felt I knew you well enough to assume that you _would_ find out, not because someone asked you to, but because that was what you yourself desired. And I felt, and still do feel, that I trusted you enough to direct me to the right door."

Sango felt her eyes grow larger. He'd just said that he _trusted_ her. Hadn't they had a whole conversation a few days ago about how trust played a part in the revered "system" he'd just gone through? _It all fits too well… everything goes back to it…_

"Miroku!"

The guard looked up at the sound of her voice, and she swallowed. She had no idea why she had just called out to him, and even less of a clue why she was suddenly prattling on like an idiot. "I… um… I trust you too!"

"Sango…"

The girl nodded. Now everything was making sense. "The reason I led you to Koharu's door… I knew that you would go there! That you would listen to what I needed to say! And… and somehow, I got the feeling you _wanted_ to be led there as well. I…" She looked up at him, eyes glimmering with a luster reminiscent to the one that always shone in his orbs whenever he was being sincere. "I really do trust you."

Miroku smiled, that same sincerity shimmering in his eyes now. "As do I you."

Sango looked away and smiled faintly. _After all we've been through, I guess it's not a surprise anymore that we've become so close._ But still, the verbal reassurance was appreciated—and blush-educing, as it turned out. Miroku smirked when he saw the scarlet grace her cheeks, saying, "You wouldn't mind my asking what caused your turn around today, would you?"

The princess made eye contact again, confusion playing on her features. "Huh?"

"If I recall correctly, you said earlier that you thought that everything that had happened tonight was a result of fate," he stated. "However, a few days ago, you told me that you didn't believe in destiny. Why the change?"

Sango shook her head, her already messy brown hair getting even more tangled from the movement. "No, no, you have it all wrong! The reason I said that was to get my father's attention so that he would let us be together. I really don't believe in it. I don't!"

Miroku smiled, shutting his eyes slightly. "Is that so?" he asked, his countenance clearly portraying his amusement. His voice, also laughing, however, turned graver as he continued to speak. "Perhaps what I shall say next will change that. On that first day, Sango… you remember don't you? I'd predicted that the man in 'the system' we were witnessing would be devoured by the tiger." Sango nodded, even though she knew that that statement was rhetorical. Miroku paused for a moment before going on. "The reason I said that… was because, somehow, I sensed that I would get a reaction. To speak during someone's 'system' is not considered a proper thing to do, as most people who participate in it will die at the tiger's paws. That's sufficed to say that I don't do so often. However, on that day… it was as though I felt the _need_ to say something. I knew that I shouldn't. But I did. And you reacted to my words, just as I had sensed. And that…" He turned back to Sango, eyes set. "…was the beginning."

She didn't even need to ask what he was referring to. _That day… that started our relationship. It started my adult life. It started…_

_…on that day…_

_…I think…_

_…my destiny began._

"So, you think that the reason you spoke… was because fate wanted us to meet?"

"That is correct."

Sango stood quietly, taking this in. _That conversation we had… fate… trust… "the system"… everything relates back to it… it all came to its culmination tonight… all of that… it fits almost too well. Something as perfect as this…_

_…it can't be just a coincidence._

_What if something bigger really is at work here?_

_What if fate is real?_

_What if…_

Sango caught herself just in time. "No!" she exclaimed. "I refuse to believe it! Miroku… as convincing as it sounds, I… I still think that we determined our own futures. Fate doesn't exist! It's just something to point to to explain everything that happens in our lives. It's just…" Her argument died. There was nothing else to say on the topic. "…I just can't think the way you do."

A noise came from Miroku's direction, sounding like a strange cross between a sigh and a laugh. "You'll never abandon that, will you, Sango?" He glanced down at her, purple eyes glowing from behind his tousled black bangs. That same noise sounded again, and he smiled for the millionth time that day. "You'll never desert your opinion about predestination, no matter what I say… will you?" She gave no signs of a response. He wasn't expecting any. "That's another one of the many things I love about you, Sango."

She forced herself to look him in the eye. _Is he being honest?_ A quick glance in his direction told her yes. In that case, she felt the need to add to what he'd just said. "And… and your ability to give such a good argument about fate… I… I really like that about you."

Miroku simpered playfully. "And the way your confidence is always floating about you… I love that about you."

Sango blushed, but continued to play along. "And the way you always see the good in people… I like that."

He took a step closer to her. "And the fact that you're so passionate about everything you do… I love that."

Now it was her turn to take a step. "And how you're so kind to everyone around you… I like that."

"And how you always think rationally."

"And how you try to understand what everyone is feeling."

"And how your face lights up when you're happy."

"And how you're just so happy all the time."

"And how generous and sympathetic you are."

"And how honest and open you are."

"And I love you."

They had been nearly nose to nose a moment ago.

Now, they were that distance, plus a step backward. Sango, eyes wide, gasped, "W… what?"

Miroku looked down, still smiling, and Sango could tell from that grin that he was not ashamed to admit something as big as that. "I always have, Sango. From the moment I first saw you I have. And I'm certain that I will never stop caring about you, regardless of those people who may try to stop me from doing so or the obstacles that we'll face together in the future. I do."

Sango met his gaze. She felt a sting in her eyes as a tear prepared to tumble down her face. "A… and I…" She choked on her words, almost unable to force out what had already been said. "I… I do, too. I… I…"

Miroku, smiling all the way, reached out a hand to brush away the tear that had formed. He walked forward one pace to fully close the gap between them. "I'm glad." He didn't make any movement to come closer. For that, Sango was grateful. Just standing there, looking into his eyes, his smiling face, his soul—_everything_—was enough. And, despite the story the tears in her eyes told, she couldn't be happier.

"Now," Miroku said, breaking the silence that had formed between the two, "If I understand correctly, Kagome-sama changes you into your bedclothes every night. However, it's extremely early in the morning, and your waiting maid is probably asleep in bed right now. In that case, you'll need someone to undress you for her…"

And then, Sango felt a familiar sensation running across her butt, and looked down to discover that one of Miroku's hands wasn't in her line of vision and was, in fact, _behind_ her…

* * *

"And if you open the door even a little bit, you'll get a second handprint to go with that one!" Sango slammed the door to her room shut, crossing her arms as she leaned against it. On the opposite side of the door, a guard with a red, hand-shaped mark on his cheek sat on the ground, sighing. So close, yet so far… 

The princess stood fuming for a moment, face reddening at the thought of that grope, that touch, that, for some reason, she just couldn't stand. _Damn it_, she thought, moving across the room to her dresser and pawing through its contents to look for a nightgown. _Just because I married him doesn't make him any less of a pervert. He can't be changed as easily as that._

Sango groaned as she manually took off her dress and corset, fumbling with the many laces that ran across the clothing. She'd never really appreciated how difficult it was to take these things off on her own; perhaps Miroku really _should_ have come in to help her… _No!_ she scolded. _Don't even think about that! If he had come in, he probably would have been touching other places besides your butt._

But despite that…

Sango stood still for a moment, stark naked and pondering. Suddenly, she burst out laughing. Her husband's antics were amusing, in a twisted sense. Even though he was the most polite, good-natured man she'd ever met… he was also the biggest pervert she'd ever known. Those two factors of his personality completely contradicted each other.

And yet…

She loved him anyway.

Yes.

She loved him and all of his idiosyncrasies. She loved that playful, yet serious boy she'd spent the past week with. She loved that thoughtful, yet lecherous guard that had sworn to protect her no matter what. She loved that enigmatic, yet open man whom she held in such high regard and who she hoped would come to respect her someday just as much as she did him now.

As she yanked her nightgown over her head, Sango called, "Miroku? I'm dressed. You can come in now."

And, as she crossed the room and pulled open the door to reveal that boy, guard, and man that she loved so much, she realized that it didn't matter anymore whether their being together was right or wrong or anything else in between.

She felt good when she was around him, a feeling caused by her love for him that had grown over the past few days.

A love that was returned.

A love that would always _be_ returned.

_And…_

Sango saw him step across the threshold, characteristic smile on his face, and felt his arms snake around her neck as the corners of her mouth turned upward into a smile.

_…that's really the way things should be.

* * *

_

**End fic.** Wow. It's over. Completed. Done. Wow… ((stares off into distance))

I hope that the ending I dreamed up was satisfactory; a lot of you seemed to pick up on the theme of fate, definitely a plus in my book. And Sango's musings at the end, I think, are really a foundation for her and Miroku's relationship. Also, this was really the first time I attempted anything that was somewhat fluffy, though I think my WAFF came out more like mush. Ah, well.

And, before I draw my exceedingly-long author's note to a close, I would like to take a moment to thank each and every one of my readers. Between over three hundred hits for this fic in the past week and 68 reviews for the first seven chapters, two numbers that I was extremely pleased with, you can only imagine my joy that my first series fic was pretty successful. I honestly didn't know what I'd have done if I didn't think anyone was reading or liking this, and so, all I can say is thank you. I hold a place in my heart for each of my readers and, when I read youf wonderful, and sometimes hysterical, reviews, I just get so happy I could burst. So thank you. ((bows))

Now! Seeing as it is my birthday today… how's about you guys go all out on your reviewing, for old times sake, eh? I look forward to hearing your opinions, positive or negative, about this chapter or this fic in general. Once again, thanks to you all. Buh-bye! ((waves))


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